REPORT 


ANDERSONVILLE  MONUMENT  COMMISSION 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAICN 


SNDBHG . 

973.7711 

V/75r 


RARE  BOOK  ROOM 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://www.archive.org/details/reportofwisconsiOOilwisc 


This  600^  has  been 
digitized  through 
the  generosity  of 

Robert  O.  Blissard 
Class  of  1957 


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REPORT 


Wisconsin    Monument 
Commission 

APPOINTED  TO  ERECT  A  MONUMENT 


ANDERSONVILLE,  GEORGIA 


WITH   OTHER   INTERESTING   MATTER   PERTAINING   TO 
THE   PRISON 


D.  G.  JAMES.  President 

C.  H.  RUSSELL,  Secretary 

LANSING  WILLIAMS,  Treasurer 


MAI)IS()\.    WIS. 

Democrat  Printing  Company,  State  printer 

1911 


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nkj  n  5^. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   I. 

PA< 
SLATIV1      ACTIOS     CONCERNING     ANDERSONVILU      COMMISSION    AM» 

Monument: 

Law  Authorizing  Committee  to  Act 

Law  Concerning    Publication  of  Report 7 

Organization   of   Committee 7 

(   MATTER  II. 
Tm    Monument: 

I  description  

Dedication    I 

Names   of    Persons    Present 19 

Addresses:    Hon.   L.   H.   Bancroft 

General   C.   R.   Boardman 

D.    G.   James.   President   Commission 

Governor  J.   O.   Davidson 44 

Mrs.    Sarah    D.    Winans 50 


CHAPTER    III. 
Description  of  Andebsonvilli    Prison 57 

CHAPTER   IV. 

sonal  Reminiscences  oi    Prison  Life    by   D.  G.  James,  Com- 
piler <>i    i  his  Book  : 

Taken    Prisoner    

Arrival   at    Anderson vi He 

Introduction    to  Captain    Henry    Wirz 67 

Treatment    in    Andersons  ill:- 71 

Transferred    to    Florence,    South    Carolina 

Ill    Treatment   at    Florence 7" 

"Flanking"    for    Extra    Rations 7^ 

Election    in    Prison 

Inhuman    Punishments    

Going   to   be   Parolled 

Good   Old   Lady   in   Goldsboro 


Table  of  (  Jontents. 


CHAPTER    V 


l»AGE 


Fi:o\i  l'di  i  uid's  Lui    "i   Jefferso>  Davis: 

.Military    'I'yianny     '.'1 

Despotic     Police     System '.'- 

Genera]    Winder  94 

Treatmenl    of    Union    Prisoners 

CHAPTER   VI. 

.John   McElroy's  "Story  of  Southern    Prisons:" 

Bugs  in  the  Soup LOO 

Genera]     Winder    Characterized 101 

Captain    Wirz    Characterized 102 

Rations    Decreasing — Rain    Increasing 105 

Barter  with  the  Guards 107 

Two    Kinds   of   Guards 107 

Inhuman    Treatment    108 

A    Ludicrous    Incident 109 

Awful  Condition  of  the  Dead Ill 

Barrett's    Insane    Cruelty 112 

Punishment    by    Starvation 113 

Snipped   off  his  Toes 115 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Investigation  of  Southern    Prisons  ky   Ordeb    of  Congress. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

From  Report  of  Investigating  Committee: 

Character  of    General  Winder lis 

United    States   Army    Regulations    Concerning    Prisoners   of 

War     121 

Robbery    of    Union    Prisoners 122 

Story  of  H.  M.   Davidson    (  Pnion  Prisoner) 121 

Km  ranee  into  Andersonville   124 

Condition    of    Prisoners 127 

Appearance    Inside L28 

Stagnani    Water    129 

Distribution    of    Rations 130 

The  Tennesseeans    L33 

Sad   Scenes    L34 

The  .Most   Common    Disease L38 

A    Man    Missing 143 

Hospital   Statement   by   Leroy  Clark 144 

About    the    Surgeons 140 

Crazy   .loins     150 

Recklessness   of   the  Guards l'l 

Carrying  off  the   Dead L5J 

Burial    Record     1 .".", 


to 


T  v  i  ■•  i .  i    op  Contents.  \ 

T<  b1  Imonj    of   I'm.  qi  •   .\i  w  ater 

The  Place  and   Manner  of  Burial 

timony  of    Lieutenant   A    \v     Pais  as    (Confederate)....       L57 

Conaitiou  of  the   Prison 

Letter  o\  James  Anderson  Lo  President    Davis  15! 

CHAPTER   l.\ 

?i  \i  \i  \i;v  of  Testimony  Concerning  Andebsonville: 

Sources  of  the  Testimony i  • ; i 

Review  ol    the  Testimony i  ♦  - 1 

Other  Confederate   Prisons: 

Johnson's    Island    L64 

Salisbury-    Diary    of    Lucien    Holmes L6E 

Florence — Letter  of  Sabina   Dismutes  to  Jefferson   Davis  L67 

Clothing    1  t;s 

Stores  Sent   from  the  North   to   Andersonville 17" 

Rations    Issued    to    Confederate    Prisoners    Contrasted    with 

t  hose  issued    to   Union    Prisonei  s 171 

Patriotism   of   Prisoners 17; 

Retaliation 17" 

Guilty   Knowledge  cf  Confederate  Authorities 17' 

Reports   of   Confederate   Officials 177 

CHAPTKR   X. 

Mortality  Among  Prisoners Is 

The  Wirz    Monument L81 

Letter  from  a  Southern    Woman 18 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Wisconsin  Soldiebs  Buried   \i   Andebsonville: 

List   of    Names 1 v  1 

Number  from    Various   Organizations 19  • 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Trial  oi    Captain  Wirz: 

Detail  for  Commission  and  Charges 191 

Testimony  in  Support  of    the  Char] 

Lieutenant    Prescott    Tracy,    Union 192 

William    Dillard,   Confederate 

Ambrose  Spencer,  Southern  Citizen 194 

B  ston    Corbett,    Union 

aer  Hamilton.  Catholic    Priest 

Dr.  Hopkin's  Report,  Thomas^  Ule,  <;a 

Dr.   Jcseph  Jones,  Confederate  Surgeon ::i! 

( '   < '.  Roy,  Confederate  Surgeon 


vi  Table  of  Contents. 

Condition  of  Prisoners  in   Hospital  page 

.1.   ('.    Bates,   Confederate  Surgeon 212 

A.    V.    Barrows     Surgeon    27th   Mass 217 

Rations  of  Prisoners  in  the  Hospital 218 

Vaccinal  ion   of    the   Prisoners 219 

Oliver  B.  Fairbanks,   Cnion 220 

Letter  from  Gen.  Cooper  to  Gen.   Howell  Cobb 221 

Report   of  D.  T.   Chandler,  Inspector 221 

Dogs  or  Hounds  at  Andersonville 

Colonel  G.   C.    Gibbs,   Confederate 222 

.Nazareth    Allen,    Confederate 222 

William    Dillard,   Confederate 223 

Colonel  J.  H.  Fannin,    Confederate 223 

James  P.   Stone,  Union 224 

I )r.    A.    V.    Barrows,    Union 226 

Chain  Gang 

John   F.    Heath,   Confederate 227 

Alexander  Kennell,   Union 228 

Andrew  J.   Spring,  Union 228 

Charles  E.   Tibbies,   Union 228 

Kobert    Tate,    Union 228 

Dr.   A.  V.   Barrows,  Union 229 

The  Stocks 

Dr.   A.  V.   Barrows.   Union 230 

Nazareth    Allen,    Confederate 230 

AVhipping 

Yicenzio    Bardo,    Union 230 

AVilliam    Jennings,    John    Fisher,    Union,     Colored,    and 

H.   C.   Lull,   Union 231 

Shooting  of  Prisoners  by  Guards 

Dr.    A.  V.  Barrows,  Union 231 

Tnomas  C.  Aleoke  and  S.   D.  Brown,   Union 232 

Charles   H.   Russell  Union 235 

Condition  of   Prisoners  in  the  Stockade 

Felix  De  La  Baume  and    Charles  H.  Russell,  Cnion  and 

Dr.    F.    C.    Castlen,   Confederate 236 

Private   Property  Taken  from   Prisoners 

T.  C.    Aleoke  and  C.   H.   Russell,   Cnion 237 

Rations 

Oliver  B.  Fairbanks,  Union 238 

Supplies  from  the  North 

James    K.    Davidson.    Union 238 

Frank    Maddox,   Cnion 239 

Captain   Wirz'  Receipt  for  Supplies 239 

William    Hull,    Cnion 240 

Authority  of   Wiiz  over   Hospital 240 

Supplies    Found  in  Georgia  and  Alabama  in  1864-'65 

1  -•  oi  ge    Welling,    Union 243 

W.   T.    Davenport,  Confederate 243 


Table  of  (  Ionten  ps  \  ii 

Wir/.'  Statement  of  Having  Been  in  the  Union  Army 

Charles    H.   Russell _  1 1 

Lettei  of  Captain  Wirz  to  Gen.  J.  H.  WilBon 245 

CHAPTER    XIII 

Findings  of  i  he  Court: 

"Guilty"    247 

Sentence,  approi  al,  execution 25] 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
Concerning  Jefferson  Davis  lnd  Generai    Lei 252 


Conduit  of  Rol-ert  E.  U 
Concerning  Pension  tor   Davi: 


• .  - .  > 


CHAPTER   XV 

Clara  Barton's    Report  of  Visit  to  Andersonvilli    in    Summer 

of   1S6T,    


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AndebSonviixe  Since  the  Civil  War 

The  Cemetery,  a>  n   i*  now !90 

Providence   Spring    29 1 


Treasurer's   Retort    292 

A  Pathetic  Poem 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


I'M. I 

Wisconsin    Monument    at   Andersonville Frontispii 

PaTty  of  ex-prisoners  at  the  foot  of  Monument 11 

Group    around  Providence  Spring 1 :; 

Group  on  the  Day  of  Dedication 17 

Hon.  Levi  H.   Bancroft 

General  Charles  R.  Boardman 35 

Governor  James  O.  Davidson 45 

Mrs.   Sarah  D.  Winans 51 

Vi-  u    of    stockade  and  surrounding's 56 

Plat  of  the  prison  grounds 56 

Map  of  the  vicinity  of  the  prison 59 

David  G.  James,  President  of  the  Commission 62 

Picture  taken   at  the  place  of  capture  of  Comrade  .lames f>4 

North  gate  of  the  prison 69 

South  end  and  sink 1 26 

Awaiting  entrance  of  more  prisoners,  at  the  North  gate 126 

Distribution   of  rations 131 

Some    Andersonville  homes 1  36 

South  end  of  the  prison 1  39 

North  end  of  the  prison L40 

North  end  of  the  prison — sink   in   the   foreground 146 

South  end  of  the   prison — showing  the  dead-line 117 

Digging  trenches  for  the  burial  of  dead  prisoners 154 

Looking  toward  the  south  end  of  the  prison 202 

Charles  H.    Russell,  Secretary  of  the  Commission 234 

The  care-taker's  cottage 271 

Mrs.   Lizabeth  A.   Turner 273 

Relics  of  prison  life — Preserved  at   Andersonville 275 

The  Cemetery 

Entrance   277 

Section  one   279 

Section  two   281 

Section  three 283 

Section    four'    . 285 

Providence   spring — The   Pavilion -s7 

Lansing    Williams.  Treasurer  of  'l"'  Commission 293 


PBEPACE. 


I  desire  to  say  to  the  readers  of  this  report  that  T  alone  as- 
sumed  the  work  of  compiling  this  volume  of  honors.  You  will 
.isk  me  why  I  have  put  this  off  until  aearly  half  a  century  after 
the  crime  was  committed.  Tn  the  firsl  place,  it  was  so  revolt- 
ing thai  the  survivors  desired  to  forget  it,  if  such  a  thing  were 
possible.  It"  was  not.  and  for  yea  is  it  haunted  us  in  our  dreams 
a1  night  The  running  sores  on  our  bodies  were  reminders  in 
our  wakeful  hours  of  what  we  had  endured.  Then  the  most 
of  our  number  belonged  to  that  class  of  citizens  who  were  com- 
pelled t<>  take  up  some  trade  or  business  for  a  livelihood,  as  the 
meager  salary  received  from  the  government  did  not  suffice 
for  a  life  of  ease  and  comfort  for  the  balance  of  our  days  on 
earth. 

And  again,  T  was  not  able  for  manv  years  to  gel  the  official 
documents  to  verify  what  I  desired  to  give  to  the  public,  know- 
ing full  well  that  a  recital  of  what  follows  would  hardly  be 
believed  without  some  verification.  It  is  no  pleasure  to  do  all 
this  work,  but  a  duty  I  owe  to  the  thousands  of  those  comrades 
who  were  the  victims  o\'  the  system  and  whose  voices  Uri,- 
Bilen<  ed  by  a  loathesome  death. 

I  did  not  desire  to  recite  these  t Molts  until,  owing  to  the  so 
called  southern  historians  falsifying  the  facts,  after  destroying 
all  the  records  to  which  they  had  access,  it  became  a  necessity — 
a  duty.  Tt  was  a  very  charitable  and  humane  acl  "ii  the  part  of 
our  government  t«»  decline  to  retaliate  by  giving  our  prison- 
ers  the  same  treatment  the  Rebels  did  us.    Bui  now.  at  this  late 

date,  to  have  them  erect  a  monument   to   Wir/  ami   put  it  where 

it  will  be  most  conspicuous  for  those  who  go  to  Ajidersonville 
to  lay  a  wreath  ou  the  grave  of  gome  dear  friend:  tn  ereel  a 
monumenl  to  Jeff  Davis  and  have  the  temerity  t<»  request  the 
loyal  citizen  who  passes  by  to  alighl   from   his  carriage  and 


4  Report  op  A-ndersonville  Mum  mint  Commission 

stand  before  il  uncovered  with  bowed  head  in  reverence  for  a 
fiend  incarnate;  to  follow  thai  with  a  silver  punch  bowl  on 
one  of  our  battleships  sailing  under  the  stars  and  stripes,  with 
the  head  of  the  traitor  embossed  on  il  with  the  following  in 
Bcription:-  "Mississippi's  Loyal  Patriotic  Citizen";  to  have 
Genera]  Lee's  monumenl  in  the  Hall  of  Fame  in  the  national 
capitol,  clad  in  a  Rebel  uniform;  and  now  agitating  the  move 
1<>  have  Jeff  Davis's  pu1  beside  it,  I  think  it  is  a  little  too  much 
I'm  us  to  bear  in  silence. 

The  few  survivors  of  those  atrocities  have  reason  to  feel 
grieved  at  such  a  display  of  audacity.  They  ought  to  have 
been  satisfied  with  letting  those  leaders  escape  unhung  with- 
out putting  these  reminders  in  the  place  most  conspicuous  for 
the  friends  of  those  who  suffered  the  tortures  of  a  thousand 
dentils  a1  their  hands.  Their  victims  seem  to  have  been  for- 
gotten so  far  as  our  politicians  are  concerned,  lias  ('(ingress 
ever  passed  a  resolution  of  gratitude  or  remembered  the  survi- 
vors or  the  widowed  mothers  of  those  men  in  any  way  \  No1  one 
word  or  one  farthing  to  show  their  gratitude,  but  vice-versa, 
when  Jeff  Davis's  remains  were  removed  to  Richmond  to  be 
placed  in  their  last  resting  place,  the  United  States  Marine 
Band  was  scut  at  the  expense  of  the  government  to  participate 
in  the  ceremonies. 

These  facts  and  many  more  T  might  mention,  prompt  me  to 
give  the  survivors  and  the  Friends  of  those  who  succumbed  to 
the  torture  inflicted  on  the  helpless  in  the  several  prisons  of 
t he  South  the  history  as  revealed  to  t he  congressional  committee 
and  the  court  thai  tried  Captain  Wirz. 

David  G.  James. 


KEPOKT  OF  THE  WISCONSIN   MONUMENT 

COMMISSION. 


CHAPTER  1. 


LEGISL  LTIVE     ACTION     CONCERNING     ANDERSON- 
VILLE MONUMENT  AND  COMMISSION. 

Son.  David  (J.  Williams  introduced  a  bill  appropriating 
ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  erection  of  a  monument  in  the 
prison  park  at  Andersonville,  Georgia,  commemorative  of  Wis- 
consin soldiers  who  suffered  and  died  there.  This  bill  was  ap- 
pro! Chapter  322,  Laws  of  1903.  Section  2  of  this  act 
provided  that  the  governor  be  authorized  to  appoinl  a  com- 
ssion  of  three  ex-union  soldiers  who  had  been  confined  ra 
said  prison  in  1864  to  have  charge  of  the  erection  of  this  monu- 
ment Governor  La  Follette  appointed  as  such  commission,  D. 
<i.  dames,  Richland  Center.  Wisconsin,  formerly  of  the  Ir-th 
Wisconsin  Infantry;  Chas.  H.  Russell,  Berlin,  Wisconsin, 
formerly  of  the  1st  Wisconsin  Cavalry;  Lansing  Williams, 
Columbus,  Wisconsin,  formerly  of  the  lsl  Wisconsin  Infantry. 

Cheating  and  Authorizing  the  Committee  to  Act. 

The  following  are  the  several  chapters  authorizing  the  commitl 

act. 

CHAPTER  322,  LAWS  OP  L903. 
\<  i  to  appropriate  a  .sum  of  money  therein  named  for  a  monu- 
ment in  the  National  Cemetery  at  Andersonville,  Georgia,  com- 
memorative of  the  Wisconsin  soldiers  who  suffered  and  died  in 
Andersonville  prison,  to  appoint  ;i  commission  to  select  a 
monument  and  cause  tie-  same  to  be  erected  and  placed  in  a  proper 
location  in  said  cemetery  and  to  provide  tor  the  traveling  and 
other  necessary  expenses  of  Buch   commissioners. 

Ion  l.    Pot  the  purpos  ting  a  suitable  monument  in  the 

National  Cemetery,  at  Andersonville,  Georgia,  commemorative  of  the 
Wisconsin    BOldlerS     who    suffered    and    died    in    Andersonville    prison, 


Report  of  A-ndersonville  Moni  iient  Commission 


there  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  money  in  the  treasury,  not 
otherwise  appropriated,  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars.  Provided, 
however,  thai  Wisconsin  granite  shall  be  preferred  for  said  monument, 
at  equal   cost  of  similar  finalities  of  granite  obtainable  from  an]   other 

st;it.-  or  states. 

Section  2.  For  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  sec- 
tion i  of  this  act,  the  governor  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin  is  hereby  au- 
thorized and  fully  empowered,  at  his  convenience,  to  appoint  a  commis- 
sion of  three  ex-union  soldiers,  each  of  whom  has   been  confined  as  a 

prisoner  in  said  former  Andersonville  prison  during  the  Civil  War,  who 
shall  serve  without  pay,  and  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  select  a  suitable 
monument  and  cause  the  same  to  be  erected  and  placed  in  a  proper 
location  in  said  National  Cemetery  within  two  years  after  the  passage 
and  publication  of  this  act. 

Section  :;.  Said  commission  shall  make  full  report  in  writing  to  the 
governor  of  this  state,  without  delay,  after  its  labors  have  been  com- 
pleted. 

Section  4.  For  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  traveling  and  other 
necessary  expenses  of  the  commission,  there  is  herby  appropriated,  out 
of  any  money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  the  further 
sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  which  sum,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be 
necessary,  shall  be  paid  to  the  individual  members  of  such  commission, 
in  the  usual  manner  provided  by  law,  upon  the  presentation  of  proper 
bills,  receipts  and  vouchers. 

Section  5.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after 
its  passage  and  publication. 

Approved  May  20,  1903. 

CHAPTER  321,  LAWS  OF  190.".. 

An   Act  to  amend  chapter  322  of  the  laws  of  1903,  and  to  appropriate 
an   additional  sum   of   money   for'  the  expenses  of  the  commission 
appointed  under  said  act,  and  to  extend  the  terms  of  the  commis- 
sion appointed  to  carry  this  provision  into  effect,  and   for  complet- 
ing said  work. 
Section   1.     Section    1    of  chapter  322  of  the  laws  of   1903,  is  hereby 
amended  to  read  as  follows:     Section  1.     For  the  purpose  of  erecting 
a  suitable  monument  in  the  old  prison  grounds  of  Andersonville  prison 
near  Andersonville  in  the  state  of  Georgia,  commemorative  of  the  Wis- 
consin soldiers  who  suffered  and  died  in  Andersonville  prison,  there  is 
hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  money  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise 
appropriated,  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  provided  however  that 
Wisconsin   granite  shall  be  preferred  for  such  monument  at  equal  cost 
of  similar  qualities  of  granite  obtainable  from  any  other  state  or  states. 
Section   2.     Section  2,  of  chapter  322  of  the  laws  of  1903,  is   hereby 
amended  to  read  as  follows:     For  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  pro- 
visions of  section  2  of  this  act,  the  governor  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin, 
is    hereby   authorized   and   duly   empowered    at   his   convenience    to   ap- 
point a  commission  of  three  ex-union  soldiers,  each  of  whom   was  con- 
lined  as  a  prisoner  in  said  former  Andersonville  prison  during  the  Civil 
War,  who  shall  serve  without  pay,  and  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  select 
and  contract  for  a  suitable  monument  and  cause  the  same  to  be  erected 
and  placed  in  a  proper  location  in  the  old  prison  grounds  of  Anderson- 
ville  prison    near   Andersonville,   Georgia,   which   monument  shall   be 
erected,  completed  and  dedicated   on   or  before   May  21st,  1907,  and  the 
terms  of  office  of  the  commissioners  appointed  under  the  provisions  of 
chapter  322  of  the  laws  of   L903,  shall  be  extended  until  May  21st,  1907. 
Section  ::.     For  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  traveling  and  other  nec- 
essary expenses  of  the  commission   in  the  selection,  contracting    for,  lo- 
cating,  approving  and  dedicating  said  monument,  and  for  tlie  purpose  of 


LEGISL  \ TIN  I.     At  TION 

paying  the  traveling  and  ether  expenses  of  speakers,  the  governoi  and 
ins  Btaff,  ana  the  salary,  traveling  ana  other  necessarj  expenses  ol  a 
ipher,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  said  monument, 
mere  is  hereby  appropriated  oul  ol  any  money  in  the  treasury  noi 
otherwise  appropriated,  the  further  sum  ol  Bix  hundred  dollars,  which 
sum  or  so  much  thfir.M  as  may  De  necessary,  siiaii  be  paid  to  the  in- 
dividual members  oi  Buch  commission,  speak-  rs,  the  governor  and  mem 
h. 'is  oi  his  Btaff,  and  to  Buch  stenographer  aforesaid,  in  the  usual  man- 
ner proviaea  by  law.  upon  the  presentation  of  proper  nills,  receipts  and 
vouchers,  it  being  Intended  by  this  Bection  to  appropriate  for  the  pur- 
named,  tin1  turther  sum  of  Bix  hundred  dollars  over  and  above  the 
appropriation  of  ii\e  hundred  dollars  made  by  section  4,  of  said  chap- 
ter 322  of  the  laws  of  1903,  and  that  so  much  of  the  sum  of  six  hun- 
dred dollars,  by  this  section  appropriated,  as  shall  he  necessary  to  de- 
fiay  i he  expenses  aforesaid  shall  be  used  for  Buch  purpose  and  Buch 
purpose  only. 

CHAPTER  L37,  LAWS  OF  L907. 

A\  A<  l  to  provide  for  suitable  dedication  of  the  monument  erected  by 
the  state  of  Wisconsin  in  the  national  cemetery  at  Andersonville, 
:gia.  and  to  appropriate  a  sum  of  money  to  defray  the  expense 
thereof. 

-  lion  1.  The  commission  appointed  under  chapter  322  of  the  laws 
of  1903,  to  select  a  monument  and  have  the  same  placed  in  a  proper 
location  in  the  national  cemetery  at  Andersonville,  Georgia,  are  hereby 
authorized  to  provide  a  suitable  dedication  for  such  monument  when 
completed.  To  defray  the  necessary  expenses  of  such  dedicatory  cere- 
monies, said  commission  is  hereby  empowered  to  use  any  unexpended 
balance  of  the  appropriation  made  by  chapter  322  of  the  laws  of  1903 
as  amended  by  chapter  321  of  the  laws  of  1905  for  the  erection  of  said 
monument,  and  foi  such  purpose  there  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of 
any  money  in  the  treasury,  not  otherwise  appropriated,  the  sum  of  one 
thousand  dollars  in  addition  thereto. 

S  ction  2.  The  expenses  of  such  dedicatory  ceremonies  shall  be  paid 
upon  presentation  of  proper  vouchers  certified  by  the  commission,  out 
of  the  money  herein  appropriated. 

Authorizing  the  Publication  of  Reports  of  the  Commission, 
chapter  269,  laws  of  1909. 

A\   At  i   relating  to  the  publication  of  reports  of  the  Shiloh  Monument 
missii  n  and  of  the   Andersonville  Monument  Commission. 
on  1.     The  commission  appointed  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of 
Cha]  of  the   Laws  of   1903,  to  select  a  monument  and  have   it 

plated  in  its  proper  location  in  the  old  prison  ground  of  Andersonville 
prison  near  Andersonville,  Georgia,  are  hereby  authorized  and  directed 
to  make  a  suitable  report. on  the  erection  and  dedication  of  said  nionu- 
ment,  such  report  to  contain  suitable  cuts  and  a  history  of  the  prison 
together  with  a  list  of  nanus  of  the  soldiers  from  Wisconsin  who  died 
in  said  prison  and  were  buried  in  the  national  cemetery  ;it  Anderson- 
ville, Georgia,  and  Buch  other  matt-rial  as  the  said  commission  may 
m  advisable.  Such  report  shall  be  published  and  printed  by  the 
te  printer  in  book  form  and  such  printer  is  authorized  and  dip 
it)  print  two  thousand  copies  of  said  report.  And  in  like  manner  there 
shall  be  published  and  printed  one  thousand  copies  of  tin1  report  of  the 
Shiloh  .Monument,  Commission,  in  addition  to  the  number  hereto 
issued. 

Section   2      \n>    unexpended   balance  of  the  appropriation   made   in 
Chapter  322,  Laws  of  1903,  as  amended  by  Chapter  321,  Laws  of    L9 


s        Report  of   Andersonville   Moni  ment  Commission 

and  Chapter    i:'.7,  Laws  of   L907,  and  Chapter  381,  Laws  of   L901,    an 
amended  bj  Chapter  L99,  Laws  of  L903,  and  Chapter  371,  Lawa  ol 
shall  reverl  to  the  Btate  and  be  placed  into  the  Btate  treasury. 

The  Commission   mel    at    Madison,   Wisconsin,  September  7, 
L904,  and  organized  by  electing  D.  G.  James,  president  ;  C.  II 
Russell,  secretary,  and  Lansing  \\  illiams,  treasurer,  h  was  then 

derided    thai    the   Commission    go   to    Andersonville   to    locale   a 

suitable  position  tor  the  monument,  which  they  did  November 

19,  1904,  locating  the  same  at  the  northwest  corner  of  w  hal  had 
been  the  inside  stockade.  Propositions  were  submitted  for  de- 
signs, with  the  result  that  none  of  those  furnished  was  con- 
sidered appropriate  Tor  the  purpose,  and  all  were  rejected. 
The  Commission  again  advertised  for  designs,  when,  after  due 
consideration,  they  called  to  counsel  with  them  Governor  La 
Follette  and  Prof.  Alexander  Miller,  and  they  jointly  settled 
on  the  design  which  was  accepted. 


Description  of  the  Moni  ment 


CHAPTER   II. 

DESCRIPTION   OF  THE   MONUMENT   AND  DEDICATION 

SERVICES. 

The  monument  is  principally  of  Georgia  granite,  the  top  lie- 
in--  surmounted  by  a  large  American  eagle  in  bronze.  The  in- 
scriptions on  ils  four  sides  are  as  follows: 

West  Face. 

(Wisconsin  Coat  of  Arms.) 
This  Monument 
ted  by  the 
State  oe  Wisconsin 

IN 

Grateee l  Remembrance 

of  our  Sons 
Who  Suffered  and  Diki» 

in 

Andersonville  Prison, 

March,  1864 — April,  1865. 

E  \st  Face. 

Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin  Coat  of  Arms.) 

Known  Dead 

578, 

To  live  in  hearts 

We  leave  behind, 

IS  not  to  die. 

Near  the  base  of  the  monument;  in  Larger  letters,  are  the 
famous  woi  da  of  I  len.  I  rranl  : 

let  us  have  peace. 


Ki        Report  of  A.ndersonville  Moni  mint  Commission 

The  designs  on   two  Bides  are  duplicates  and  consist   simply 
of  a  larg<   "  W "  enclosed  in  a  wreath,  with  the  figures  '   L90I 
underneath. 

Near  the  lower  pari  of  the  structure,  in  four  differenl  pla 

the  following  official  data  have  been  inscribed: 

Commission  appointed  in  1904  by  K.  M.  LaFollette,  Governor. 

D.  G.  James,  President,  Richland  Center,  Wisconsin, 

16th    Wisconsin    [nfantry. 

L.  Williams,  Treasurer,  Columbus,  Wisconsin, 

1st  Wisconsin   [nfantry. 

('.  II.  Russell,  Secretary,  Berlin,  Wisconsin, 

1st   Wisconsin  ( Javalry. 

Dedication  of  the  Monument. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  McLaughlin,  editor  of  the  Stev- 
ens Point  Journal,  we  quote  the  following: 

The  dedication  of  the  Wisconsin  Monumenl  a1  A.nderson- 
ville,  Ga.,  look  place  on  Oct.  17.  1907,  in  the  presence  of  about 
one  hundred  residents  of  the  state,  whose  names  appeal*  later. 
The  special  train  which  conveyed  the  excursionists  was  com- 
posed of  a  combination  baggage  and  smoking  car  and  three 
Pullman  sleepers.  The  train  left  Madison  over  the  St.  Paul 
railroad  early  in  the  afternoon  of  October  15,  and  after  1  ravers- 
in<i  pads  of  five  stales,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee  and  Georgia,  reached  A.ndersonville,  the  site  of  the 
far-famed  Confederate  military  prison  pen,  early  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  17th,  with  a  total  of  107  passengers  aboard.  The 
day  was  an  ideal  one.  The  siin  was  bright  and  warm  and  the 
air  soft  and  balmy.  Koses  and  other  tlowers  were  still  in  bloom, 
the  cotton  fields  white  with  the  fast  maturing  crop,  some  of 
which  had  already  been  picked  and  was  being  ginned  and  made 
ready  for  the  market.  The  foliage  on  oak,  sycamore,  maple, 
hickory,  pecan,  magnolia,  umbrella,  pomegranate,  fig  and  peach 
tr<-es,  yet  untouched  by  the  frost,  was  as  green  and  brighl  as 
in  the  summer  time.  Only  in  a  few  isolated  instances  had  oid 
Jack  I'lnst  laid  even  a  blighting  finger  on  the  foliage, — a  con- 
dition which  extended  as  tar  north  as  Chattanooga  where  fresh 
roses  si  ill  greeted  the  eye. 

The  dedicatory  services  took  place  al  two  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, and   were  <i-    follows:     Prayer  by   a    former   residenl    of 


Description  of  the  Mom  men  r  1,*3 

Wisconsin,  but  who  is  now  connected  with  the  Booker  T.  Wash* 
ington  school  al  Tuskegee;  hymn  by  a  aegro  chorus  of  twelve 
voices;  address  by  -Indue  Advocate  Lievi  II.  Bancrofl  of  Kich- 
land  Center;  hymn  by  a  negro  chorus  which  was  very  beautiful 
indeed;  addivss  by  Adjutant  Genera]  C.  El.  Boardman  of  Osh- 
kosh;  song,  "  Wisconsin,"  by  Miss  Vida  James,  accompanied  by 
Miss  Carolyn  Bancroft,  both  of  Richland  Center ;  formal  turning 
over  of  the  monument  by  President  D.  G.  James,  of  tbe  com- 
mission, to  Governor  James  0.  Davidson;  acceptance  of  the 
monument  on  the  part  of  the  state  by  Governor  Davidson;  sur- 
render of  the  same  by  the  governor  into  the  keeping  of  the  Na- 
tional Woman's  Relief  Corps;  acceptance  of  the  responsibility 
by  Mrs.  Sarah  l>.  Winans,  vice-president  of  the  corps,  who  came 
from  Toledo,  Ohio,  for  that  purpose;  singing  of  America  by  the 
entire  assemblage. 

Among  the  excursionists  were  about  fifteen  former  Anderson- 
vine  prisoners,  and  to  them  the  visit  was  of  absorbing  and  per- 
sonal  interest.  The  old  stockade  which  surrounded  the  prison 
has  been  carried  away  or  rotted  down  until  not  a  vestige  of  it 
remains,  but  the  grounuds  have  been  marked  with  posts  show- 
ing where  the  stockade  and  dead  line  formerly  stood;  and  one 
of  the  first  things  the  Cornier  prisoners  did  was  to  locate  and 
point  mil  to  their  friends  Hie  spot  where  each  was  located  when 
in  th«-  prison.  The  places  some  of  them  occupied  at  that  time 
were  mere  dugouts  or  holes  in  the  ground  covered  with  blank- 
ts,  il*.  indeed,  they  were  lucky  enough  to  have  them.  On  some 
po;i ions  of  i!m  ground  there  are  trees  at  least  eighteen  inches  in 
diameter,  and  of  corresponding  height.  These  trees  were  not 
out,  but  came  up  from  seeds  bloAvn  there,  and  the  entire 
growth  has  been  made  in  Corty-two  years,— thus  presenting  a 
splendid  objed  lesson  in  the  possibilities  of  forestry  and  forest 
culture. 

All  the  visitors  had,  of  course,  heard  of  Providence  Spring, 
the  unexpected  breaking  out  of  which  has  been  told  in  prose  and 
poetry,  and  all  availed  themselves  of  an  opportunity  to  taste 
its  waters,  some  cai  i  \  ing  a  sample  home  with  them. 

During  a  visit  to  these  grounds  six  years  ago  we  were  told  a 
little  story,  a  personal  reminiscence  which  may  hear  repeating 
here.  While  on  the  grounds  we  me1  p  woman  who  lias  always 
lived  aboul  a  mile  from  the  prison.     Her  father,  she  said,  had 


lii       Report  of   Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

served  in  the  Confederate  army  but,  being  incapacitated,  came 
home  mid  helped  build  the  stockade.  One  day  after  the  prison 
was  occupied  she  went  down  to  the  gate  with  her  mother  and 
a  party  of  friends  to  sec  the  prisoners.  She  was  then  aboul 
six  years  old.  While  a1  the  gate  a  prisoner  asked  one  of  the 
guards  for  some  tobacco  the  Confederates  always  being  well 
supplied  with  tobacco.  The  guard  said,  "How  will  yon  gel  it  ! 
if  I  throw  it  to  yon  it  will  fall  into  the  sand."  "Let  the  little 
gir]  bring  it  to  me."  said  the  prisoner.  "They  then  asked  me 
to  carry  the  tobacco,"  said  the  woman,  "but  the  prisoners  looked 
mi  dirty  and  ragged,  and  I  heard  such  awful  stories  about 
the  Yankees,  that  I  was  afraid  of  them, —  afraid  they  would  kill 
me.  Finally,  however,  after  much  coaxing,  I  ventured  to  carry 
the  tobacco,  and  when  I  reached  the  prisoner  lie  took  me  Up  in 
his  arms,  kissed  me.  asked  me  how  old  I  was,  and  said  lie  had  a 
little  girl  at  home  just  my  age."  Whether  the  man  ever  re- 
turned home  and  had  the  blessed  privilege  of  again  taking  his 
own  little  girl  in  bis  arms  of  course  the  woman  did  not  know. 

The  excursion  train  started  on  its  homeward  journey  in  the 
evening  of  the  same  day  of  its  arrival,  stopping  an  hour  at 
Macon,  spending  a  day  at  Atlanta,  two  days  on  the  battle  fields 
of  Chattanooga,  one  day  at  Nashville  and  arriving  in  ( Jhicago  a1 
nine  oYiock  Wednesday  morning, — the  journey  from  that  city 
and  back  having  occupied  a  little  more  than  seven  days:  but.  of 
the  homeward  journey,  more  at  another  time. 

The  excursion  was  under  the  personal  direction  of  I).  (J. 
James,  presidenl  of  the  commission.  To  say  that  he  proved 
himself  the  righl  man  in  the  righl  place  is  to  use  a  hackneyed 
expression,  yet  it  admirably  iits  this  case.  All  tin1  details  were 
intelligently  planned  and  carried  out  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  the  party.  To  manage  successfully  an  excursion  is  a  dif- 
ficult task,  yet  Mr.  .James  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  II.  C. 
Bailey  of  Chicago  accompanied  the  excursionists  as  the  official 
representative  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  railroad.  He 
Looked  carefully  after  Hie  interests  of  all,  and  made  a  personal 
friend  of  every  one  in  t  he  party. 


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DbB(  RIPTI0N    OF    THE    M0N1   mini  19 

Names  of  Persons  Present  \t  the  Dedicatory  Services. 
Where  the  oame  of  state  is  not  printed,  read  Wisconsin. 

Gov.  J.  0.  Davidson  and  wife,  Madison. 
Gen.  C.  R.  Boardman  and  wife,  Madison. 
Col.  -T.  G.  Salsman  and  wit'*'.  Madison. 
1  I    I      Munson  and  wife,  Viroqna. 
linn.  .1.  A    Prear,  Secretary  <»t'  State,  and  wife.  Hudson. 
D.  G.  James  and  daughters,  Ada  and  Vida,  Richland  Center 
C.  II.  Russell  and  wife,  Berlin. 
Lansing  Williams.  Columbus. 
Belle  Williams.  Columbus. 
Blanche  Williams,  Columbus. 
i«»r  N.  P.  Bird,  Wausaukee. 
C.  Sayle,  Madison. 
Col.  W.  H.  Joslin,  Richland  Center. 
David  Schreiner,  Lancaster. 

Brown,  Detroit,  Michigan. 

\   F.  Hall,  Janesville. 
R.  P).  Showalter  and   Martha  Showalter,  Lancaster. 

S    Sancermann,  Winston,  Illinois. 

I'..  P.  Washburn,  Excelsior. 

Alfred  Burdick,  Milton. 

W.  W.  Chadwick  and  Harriet  Chadwick,  Monroe. 

Col.  Geo.  M.  Neckerman,  Madison. 

X    Bnrch,  Menomonie. 

Hon.  I  \eo.  B.  Burrows,  Madison. 

I [on.  R.  J.  Flint,  Menomonie. 

( !apt.  IIiilHi  Lewis.  Madison. 

>.  B.  McMillan,  <  hrand  Rapids. 

Arehie  McMillan,  Grand  Rapids. 

( '.  J.  Kirch,  Madison. 

T.  1  [.  Ramsey,  Berlin. 

A.  C.  Btscheid,  <  hirtiss. 

L.  M.  Btscheid,  Curtiss. 

\V.  E.  Ashard,  Madison. 

II.  I..  Ashard,  Madison. 

H.  < '.  Bailey,  <  Ihicago,  Illinois. 

If    Henry,  Bau  Claire. 


20       Report  of  A.ndbrsonvillb  Moni  mint  Commii  mon 

<  iscar  H.  Pierce,  .Milwaukee. 

Hon.  D.  II.  Bancroft,  Richland  Center. 

Mrs,  Myrtle  Bancroft,  Richland  Center. 

Miss  ( 'arolyn    Uaneroft,   Richland  Center. 

Blaine  Bancroft,  Richland  ( ienter. 

Miss  Helen   Kirkpat  riek,   Richland  Center. 

(I.  W.  Marsh,  Santiago,  California. 

Mrs.  K.  W.  Marsh,  Santiago,  California. 

Chas.  Weittenhiller,  Platteville. 

Edward  McGlachlin,  Stevens  Point. 

Mrs.  Edward  McGlachlin,  Stevens  Point. 

Mrs.  I').  I).  Berry,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

R.  II.  DeLap,  Richland  Center. 

Mr.  X.  L.  .lames,  Richland  Center. 

Miss  Mabel  .lames,  Riehland  Center. 

TT.  P.  Christman,  Menomonee  Falls. 

J.  II.  Reed,  Tecnmseh,  Kansas. 

C.  E.  Estabrook,  Milwaukee. 

F.  II.  Williams,  Whitewater. 

J.  R.  West,  Elgin,  Illinois. 

W.  II.  -Johnson.  Berlin. 

Mrs.  W.  H.  -Johnson,  Berlin. 

John  Woodward,  Platteville. 

Henry   Stannard,   Platteville. 

L.  L.  < >\vens.  Burlington. 

R.  E.  Osborne,  La  Crosse. 

Wm.  Lindsay  and  wife,  Milwaukee. 

Alex.  ( lampbell,  Albion. 

Esther  Newman,  Algoma. 

Bernice  I  [atch,  Sturgeon  Bay. 

W.  II .  Grinnell  and  wife,  Beloit. 

Mrs.  Laura  Dodd,  Boise,  Idaho. 

E.  A.  Beau  and  wife,  Watltoma. 

('apt.    F.   A.  Wilde,  .Milwaukee. 

B.  S.  Williams.  Wautoma. 

Mrs.  Sara   Richardson,  Sheboygan  Falls. 

W.  H.  Richardson,  Sheboygan  Falls. 

Miss  Jessie  Hunter,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  C.  Putman,  Brodhead. 


!  M  B<  k 1 1  rtOK   OF    i  in.    MON1  mi  \  i  21 

i:   II.  smaii,  Brodhead. 
Mrs.  I-    \    B1  lart,  Brodhead. 
Henry  Luther,  Berlin. 
Mrs,  M.  E).  Lather,  Berlin. 

.I    B.  Hanson,  Beloit, 
A    s.  Jackson,  Beloit. 
John  ( '.  .Martin,  Madison. 

•  !.  B.  Edwards,  Mauston. 
William  Belter,  Wautoma. 
John  W.  I  Janes,  Fox  Lata . 
Mrs.  -I.  W.  Ganes,  Fox  Lake. 
V,  rs.  Nellie  Duncan.  Darlington. 
Mrs.  A.  W.  st.M-kton,  Faribault,  Minnesota. 
Frances  R.  Wliite,  Wis.  Veterans'  Some,  Waupaca. 
I  .  I'.  Wellensgard  ami  wife,  Berlin. 

•;.  and  .Mrs.  A.  (J.  Dinsmure,  Veterans'  Hume,  Waupaca. 
U.  II.  Wanamaker,  Madison. 
s.  Prowse,  I  Ihicago,  [llinois. 
Henry  Rintelmann,  Milwauki 
Henry  Stannard,  <  rreenbush. 
John  Prien,  Madison. 

-  with  pleasure  and  gratitude  that  we  pause  to  make  men- 
tion of  Mr.  John  Prien,  who  accompanied  our  party  to  Anderson- 
ville  and  back  t<>  Chattanooga  as  representative  of  the  C.  M.  & 
81  P.  K.  R.,  and  Mr.  II.  C.  Bailey  of  the  N.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R. 
These  gentlemen  added  much  to  the  interest  of  the  trip  by  ar- 
ranging for  stop-overs  at  all  the  historic  points  along  the  way  ; 
and  they  showed  themselves  well  fitted  for  the  high  positions 
they  held  with  the  railroad  companies  they  represented. 


22        Report  of  Andersonville  Mom  mint  Commi    ion 


Address  op  the   Honorable  Levi   II.   Bancroft. 

The  state  of  Wisconsin  has  considered  it  a  duty  to  place  here 
an  appropriate  memorial,  as  a  tribute  to  the  heroism  of  her 
sons  who  here  suffered  martyrdom. 

The  men  who  died  here  understood  the  worth  of  that  free- 
dom which  they  were  denied. 

Amid  scenes  of  horror  which  mighl  well  appall  the  stoutest 
heart,  and  subjected  to  temptation  by  the  promise  of  liberty, 
seemingly  stronger  than  human  endurance,  with  courage  un- 
daunted and  honor  unstained,  they  gave  to  the  cause  of  human 
liberty  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion. 

It  was  eminently  fitting  and  proper  thai  those  who  survived 
the  war's  fierce  tempest  to  enjoy  the  fruition  of  thai  liberty 
which  these  men  died  to  preserve,  should,  with  reverent  and 
loving  remembrance,  rear  an  altar  on  this  spot  made  sacred 
by  the  blood  of  their  martyred  comrades. 

After  the  lapse  of  nearly  half  a  century,  that  duty  was  dele- 
gated to  a  commission,  appointed  by  the  chief  executive  of  the 
State,  composed  of  three  members,  who  were  themselves  con- 
fined as  prisoners  of  war  within  the  stockade  of  Andersonville. 

That  commission,  consisting  of  Charles  H.  Russell,  David  G. 
James,  and  Lansing  Williams,  has  now  completed  its  task. 

To  these  veteran  comrades  of  those  who  suffered  here,  the 
discharge  of  this  obligation  has  been  a  labor  of  love.  They 
have  ereeted  here  an  enduring  pile  of  granite  and  bronze,  and 
graven  it  with  loving  sentiment,  to  the  memory  of  comrades 
dead. 

Today  as  the  guests  of  that  Commission,  we  are  called  ii| 

to  witness  the  completion  of  their  labors,  and  to  participate  in 
the  solemn  ceremonies  attendant  upon  the  conclusion  of  their 
duty,  and  the  surrender  of  their  responsibility. 

1  have  been  requested  by  the  members  of  this  Commission. 
to  say  something  here  befitting  the  occasion.  A  request  from 
such  a   presence,  is  a  command  not  to  be  disobeyed. 

This  only,  is  my  excuse  for  trespassing  upon  your  patience, 
and  for  presuming  to  break  the  silence  of  these  surroundings, 

more    eloquent    than    human    lips. 

When  the  storm  of  the  Civil  War  burst  in  flame  and  fury 
Wisconsin  was  one  of  the  youngesl    of  the  sisterhood  of  states. 


Hon.     LEI  1     II.    13a\(  B01  I 


I  >i  5<  RJPTION    OF   mi     M"M   M  25 

g  rs  had  Bhe  worn  the  diadem  of  Sovereignty. 

Bui  her  people  were  born  for  freedom,  and  a1  her  call,  her  sons, 
iwded  the  way  to  death,  as  to  a  festival." 

To  this  greatest  of  all  wars,  Wisconsin  contributed  52  i 
Dients  of  infantry,  1  regiments  of  cavalry,  13  batteries  of  \\i:\\\ 
artillery,  and  one  full  regimenl   of  heavy  artillery,     approxi- 
mately 100,000  men.     Of  this  number  more  than   12,000  gave 
up  their  lives  in  tin   Bervice  of  their  country. 

Her  Bons  were  with  Granl  .-it  Vicksburg,  and  Shiloh,  and 
Appomattox.  They  were  with  McClellan  a1  Antietam,  and 
with  Meade  at  Gettysburg.  They  climbed  the  heights  of  Look- 
out Mountain  and  .Mission  Ridge,  and  with  Sherman,  marched 
from  Atlanta  to  the  - 

On  every  great  battle  field  of  the  war,  side  by  side  with  their 
comrades  from  other  states,  "no  useless  coffins  around  their 
breasts"  bul  wrapped  in  the  soldier's  martial  shroud,  they 
together,   "on   fields  boughl   with  their  blood"   awaiting  the 
dawn  of  the  eternal  day. 

In  thai  Lrf«'.it  conflict  2,800,000  men  enlisted  under  the  flag 
of  the  American  Union. 

Of  this  number  300,000  died  a  soldier's  death;  175,000  were 
captured  and  confined  in  prison  pens;  500,000  were  maimed 
with  wounds  or  stricken  with  disei  a 

Prom  thai  conflict  the  republic  emerged,  burdened  with  tho 
agony  and  horror  of  the  mosl  stupendous  struggle  of  all  his- 
tory. With  a  legacy  of  hate, — an  inheritance  of  tears  and 
broken  hearts,  and  a  national  debt  of  four  thousand  millions 
of  dolls 

Here,  where  cruelty  unspeakable,  and  heroism  beyond  ex- 
presaion  combined  to  make  of  this  spot  the  Golgotha  of  the 
•"l-ii  hemisphere,  50,000  men  were  confined  within  a  stock- 
ade covering  a  Bpace  of  1,010  feet  by  77!»  feet,  and  subjected 
to  the  torture  of  such  conditions  as  to  render  death  a  welcome 
relief.  The  fortunate  ones  were  the  13,000  who  lie  buried  in 
these  sunken  gra 

In  thai  lottery  of  lit''-  and  death,  127  drew  the  prize  of  six 
-  1  feel  of  earth  in  a  single  day,  and  went  uncomplainingly 
to  nameless  gra' 

the  heroes  who  here  endured  and  died   for  liberty  and 
union,  378  were  from  the  green  hills  of  old  Wisconsin. 


1'ii        Report  oi  Andersonvillb  .Mom  ment  Commission 

Today  we  dedicate  this  monument  to  their  memoiy. 

li  is  a  beautiful  belief,  thai  treasured  up  in  our  natures  are 
all  the  unconscious  influences  of  all  the  heroism  and  martyr- 
dom of  our  race  from  the  dawn  of  our  civilization  until  today; 
and  thai  from  this  hidden  fountain  of  pure  and  lofty  sentiment, 
we  are  constantly  renewing  our  faith,  and  finding  inspiration 
and  strength  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity. 

That  man  would  be  devoid  of  human  sensibility,  who  could 
stand  unmoved  in  the  presence  of  the  world's  greal  monuments 
without  reeling1  his  heart  stir  with  the  memories  which  they 
awaken. 

Before  the  column  of  July  which  marks  the  site  of  the  "old 
bastile"  what  lover  of  human  liberty  would  not   uncover? 

Before  the  shaft  which  crowns  the  summit  of  grand  old  Bunker 
Mill,  what  American  would  not  feel  his  pulses  quicken  with 
the  memory  of  that  glorious  day.  when  the  ragged  Continentals 
rolled  the  chivalry  of  England  down  its  ensanguined  slopes 
in  disorder  and  defeat  .' 

These  monuments  are  the  enduring  ties  of  human  fellowship, 
binding  the  heroic  souls  of  generations  past  to  kindred  spirits 
yel   unborn. 

They  are  the  milestones  of  earth's  pilgrimage,  marking  the 
progress  of  humanity  through  the  ages  of  advancing  civiliza- 
tion. 

They  tell  the  story  of  a  thousand  years.  The  story  of  the 
heroism  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  The  story  of  the  struggles 
of  millions,  on  the  battlefields  of  two  hemispheres,  -from  Al- 
fred to  Cromwell,  and  from  Washington  to  Lincoln. 

Now.  when  time  has  healed  all  wounds,  and  industry  has  re- 
paired all  the  ravages  of  the  Civil  war,  we  may  speak  impar- 
tially of  its  cause  and  its  effects,  since  the  .North  and  the  South, 
as  one  people,  rejoice  in  the  heiielicent   results  of  its  conclusion. 

We  have  been  told  that  the  cause  of  that  war  was  the  ques- 
tion of  the  sovereignty  of  the  stales.  Bu1  hack  of  the  question 
of  "state  rights"  was  the  reason  why  certain  of  the  states  of 
the  American  union  desired  to  exercise  their  sovereignly  in 
opposition  to  the  general  government. 

It  is  cone 'ded  thai  one  reason  was  a  desire  on  tie-  pari  of 
cei-tain  slates  to  maintain  and  perpetuate  the  institution  of 
human  slavery. 


EUPTION    m|     Tin.    MoNI    v.i.vr  27 

Accepting  tins  truth,  some  have  been  satisfied  with  the  con 
elusion  that  slavery  was  the  real  cause  of  the  war, 

l>ut  back  of  the  question  of  Blavery  was  another  and  more 
significant  reason,  which  was  the  real  cause  of  1 1 1  *  *  ('ivil  War, 
as  it  has  been  ami  will  continue  to  be,  the  real  cause  of  all  the 
\\  ars  among  men. 

It    was  the  one   cause   which    lias  devastated   the   world, 
wrecked   the   governments  of  all  nations,   and  destroyed  the 
civilizations  of  all  ag 

The  people  of  the  South  have  distinguished  themselves 
through  all  of  our  country's  history  as  the  most  liberty  loving 
ami  chivalrous  portion  of  our  population. 

Every  battlefield  of  the  American  revolution  ran  red  with 
the  blood  of  the  cavalier.  It  was  Patrick  Henry  of  Virginia, 
who.  when  he  h.-ard  of  Concord  and  Lexington,  sent  from  Vir- 
ginia this  message  to  Massachusetts,  "I  am  not  a  Virginian,  1 
am  an  American." 

It  was  Virginia  that  gave  us  Washington,  the  father  of  the 
republic;  and  Jefferson,  the  author  of  the  Declaration  oi'  Inde- 
pendence. 

It  was  the  South  whi.-h  gave  to  the  American  union  tne 
sturdy  character  of  *"<)ld  Hickory'*  as  exemplified  in  tne  in- 
domitable patriotism  of  Andrew  Jackson. 

Why  was  it  that  the  South  desired  to  maintain  an  institu- 
tion so  utterly  at  variance  with  every  principle  of  her  splendid 
history.1  So  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  liberty  engendered  in 
her  bosom t  So  foreign  to  every  precepl  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  penned  by  her  illustrious  son.'  So  utterly 
opposed  to  <-\<-vy  tendency  of  our  institutions,  and  our  form 
of  government,  as  well  as  to  every  principle  of  justice  and 
humanity  \ 

The  only  reason  why  slavery  ever  existed  among  men.  and 
the  only  reason  why  its  continued  existence  was  ever  tolerated 
or  desired  by  any  portion  of  the  civilized  world,  was  because 
it  was  considered  profitable. 

It  was  a  mistaken  idea  of  profit  which  caused  the  ('hi]  War, 

'.ell    ;i->    every    other    war   of    which    history    makes   any    ac- 
counl . 

How  money  blinds  our  eyes,  and  hardens  our  hearts:  chang- 
ing love  to  hatred,     clothing  injustice  in  the  garments  of  de- 


:>        Report  of  AndErsonvillb  Monument  Commission 

ception,  and  changing  the  wine  of  life  into  the  sordid  dregs  of 
avarice. 

It  was  the  Divine  Author  of  the  Christian  civilization  who 
gave  to  men  and  nations,  as  the  law  of  their  being,  that  truth 
which  all  human  history  has  confirmed, — "You  cannot  wor- 
ship both  God  and  Mammon." 

When  we  have  progressed  far  enough  in  civilization  to  be 
able  to  comprehend  the  immutability  of  the  law,  we  shall  under- 
stand that  taxes  and  tariffs  cannot  build  a  nation;  that  presi- 
dents and  political  policies  cannot  insure  the  permanency  of  a 
nation;  that  armies  and  navies  are  powerless  to  maintain  or 
to  destroy  a  nation;  that  no  weapon  of  offense  or  of  defense, 
nt-  pomp  or  pageantry,  can  prevail  against  the  fixed  and  im- 
mutable lawTs  of  God;  that  nothing  endures,  or  can  endure,  but 
truth,  and  justice,  and  liberty. 

To  deny  this  is  to  deny  the  omnipotence  of  God.  To  deny 
this  is  to  deny  the  Christian  civilization;  to  deny  the  power  of 
justice,  and  the  lessons  of  all  human  history  and  experience. 

If  this  be  not  true,  then  slavery  was  right;  and  anarchy  is 
right;  and  the  arbitrary  exercise  of  autocratic  power  and 
brute  force  is  right. 

The  leader  of  the  herd  and  the  wolf  pack  compels  obedience 
by  force, — the  poAver  of  hoof  and  horn,  of  fang  and  claw,  of 
beak  and  talon.     This  is  the  law  of  the  brute. 

1 1'  man  had  no  higher  law  than  the  brute,  our  civilization 
would  be  a  farce. 

Standing  here  today  in  the  presence  of  the  heroic  dust  of 
those  who  died  for  the  union,  we  know  that  every  patriot  who 
believes  in  the  glorious  destiny  of  the  great  republic  would 
deem  the  war  for  that  union  a  failure,  and  that  these  men  had 
died  in  vain,  if  in  its  results  that  war  had  not  proved  in  every 
sense  a  victory  for  the  South  as  well  as  for  the  North. 

In  the  enlarged  horizon  of  our  national  life,  only  made  pos- 
sible by  the  results  of  the  Civil  War,  85,000,000  of  freemen, 
united  in  a  common  heritage  of  glory,  and  a  common  purpose 
of  national  achievement,  look  forward  to  a  destiny  wirich  like 
a  mighty  ocean  touches  all  the  shores  of  human  possibility. 

Bound  by  every  tie  of  interest  and  origin  into  a  common 
purpose,  our  national  life  has  been  cemented  into  a  stronger 
union  by  the  blood  of  our  common  heroes  mingled  on  a  hun- 
dred battlefields. 


Dbs<  RIPTION   OF   THE    M"\i   mint 

Prom  thai  day,  when,  in  the  valley  of  Bethulia,  He  nerved 
the  arm  which  smote  the  tyrant  down  to  this  hour,  the  God  of 
battles  has  bestowed  His  benediction  npon  those  who  dared 
to  unsheathe  the  Bword  for  a  righteous  cams 

Out  of  thai  awful  storm  of  blood  and  agony  He  has  broughl 
us  as  a  re-united  people  into  the  blessed  sunshine  of  peace, 
and  union,  and  liberty,  and  national  prosperity. 

He  has  taughl  us.  and  through  us  He  has  taught  the  civilized 
world,  that  oeither  Individuals  nor  nations  can  hope  to  achieve 
permanent  good  or  enduring  prosperity  Prom  the  practice  of 
injustice.  Thai  the  sordid  greed  for  gain  which  tempted  us,  as 
it  had  tempted  the  Greek  and  the  Roman  before  us.  to  violate 
the  spirit  of  oui'  institutions  and  to  (\r\'y  the  justice  of  God, 
broughl  upon  us.  as  it  had  broughl  upon  all  others,  the  ven- 
geance of  the  violated  law:  until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by 
the  lash  had  been  requited  by  the  Bword.  Until  every  dollar  de- 
rived from  the  Labor  of  ;i  slave  had  been  paid  by  the  Labor  of 
a  freeman.  I'ntil  the  agony  and  misery  of  a  race  iu  bondage 
had  been  compensated  by  tic  suffering  and  martyrdom  of  thai 
race  which  forged  the  chain. 

\V.  are  coming  to  realize  more  and  more  that  "the  judg- 
ments of  God  are  true  and  righteous  altogether.'1 

In  hut  little  more  than  half  a  century  after  the  establish- 
ment of  free  government  in  America,  the  American  union 
owed  its  preservation  to  tie-  rugged  integrity  and  indomitable 
courage  of  the  Puritan  character. 

Today,  scarce  half  a  century  after  the  Civil  war.  the  repub- 
lic Deeds  as  never  before  that  high  idealism  and  the  fine  sense 
of  persona]  honor  in  both  public  and  private  life  which  ever 
distinguished  the  character  of  the  cavalier. 

America  stands  invincible  to  all  the  world,  except  it  he  the 
genius  of  her  own  instil ut ions. 

In  the  Btrengtfa  and  pride  of  her  own  marvelous  material 
prosperity  she  requires  for  self-preservation  the  regenerating 
influences  of  the  New  South,     the  South  of  Henry  \V.  Grady 

and    of  .John    B.   I  lordon. 

We  need  that  spirit  of  patriotism,  which  has  triumphed  over 
adversity,  without  surrendering  its  ideals  or  its  honor.     That 
spirit  of  patriotism  which  can  and  will  grasp  the  great  ques 
dons  of  oui-  national  Life,  with  a  determination  t<»  solve  them 
for  righteousness,  without  regard  to  consequences  to  "vested 


30       Report  op  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

interests,"  which  has  enabled  the  South  to  grapple  with  the 
greal  quesl  ion  of  intemperance. 

Real  patriotism,  such  as  this  greal  republic  needs  to  purge 
iis  national  life  of  every  stain  of  pretense  and  materia]  osten- 
tation;— such  as  i1  needs  to  give  il  life  and  immortality,  is  the 
same  today  as  in  "thai  hour  which  tried  men's  souls." 

It  is  something  more  than  a  mere  sentimentality.  Il  is  no1 
a  mere  pride  in  achievement.  Tl  is  not  a  lust  for  presenl  glory 
and  emolument. 

It  is  thai  absolute  renunciation  of  self  which  identifies  the 
individual  with  the  glory  of  the  -nation  to  the  exclusion  of 
persona]  interest, — like  a  greal  river  flowing  to  the  sea,  to  he 
lost  in  its  heaving  tides. 

That  renunciation  of  self  which  Ruth  expressed:  "Where 
thou  goest  T  will  go;  where  thou  livest  T  will  live;  and  where 
thou  diest,  there  will  T  die  also." 

Such  self-effacement  as  is  here  depicted  by  these  nameless 
graves,  where  died  in  silent  resignation  for  their  country's 
cause  those  heroes  whose  memory  we  celebrate  today. 

When  the  Might  of  our  undazzled  eagle  shall  be  nearest  to 
the  sun,  will  be,  not  amid  the  roar  and  tumult  of  battle  and 
conflict, — not  when  war  spreads  desolation  over  the  land, — 
hut  when  amid  the  beauty  of  peace  and  the  splendor  of  pros- 
perity, American  patriotism  shines  resplendent  in  the  civic 
honor  and  integrity  of  American  citizenship. 

In  the  fruition  of  our  national  life,  we  recognize  as  one  of 
the  most  beneficent  results  of  the  Civil  War,  the  complete  abo- 
lition of  all  sectional  lines.  The  glory  of  the  great  republic 
is  no  longer  circumscribed  hy  locality  or  condition,  hut  is 
shared  alike  by  every  section  of  our  country's  vast  domain. 

When  history  with  impartial  pen,  shall  write  the  story  of  the 
Civil  war,  it  will  record  no  tale  of  conquest. 

It  will  speak  of  that  war  and  of  its  results  only  as  a  greal 
national  regenerations,  made  necessary  by  the  development  of 
republican  institutions. 

It  will  write  beside  the  name  of  (iranl  that  other  great  com- 
mander, whose  splendid  genius  reflects  the  glory  of  American 
arms, — Genera]  Roberl  E.  Lee. 

It  will  tell  of  that  tilt  with  death  in  the  valley  of  the  Shen- 
andoah, where  Sheridan  and  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  each,  for 
the  first  time,  met  a  "foeman  worthy  of  his  steel." 


Description  of  the  Moni  ment  'il 

It  will  rank  with  the  genius  of  any  who  rose  to  a  supreme 
command  in  the  armies  of  the  North,  the  oame  of  that  chival 
rous  soldier.  Alberl  Sidney  Johnson,  from  whose  hand  death 
tched  tli«i  prize  of  victory  on  Shiloh's  bloody  field. 

It  was  n<»t  a  triumph  of  superior  valor  oor  the  resull  <>!*  a  su- 
perior military  skill  which  brought  the  glorious  peace  of  Appo 
mattox,  where  the  South,  exhausted  by  the  conflicl  which  had 
devastated  her  fields  and  destroyed  her  industries,  surrendered 
a  hopeles  cause  for  the  sake  of  humanity. 

Tt  was  the  omnipotenl  Power  of  the  God  of  justice  and  lib- 
erty, againsl  which  no  human  skill  or  valor  can  prevail,  which 
brought  the  exhausted  bu1  uneonquered  South  to  acknowledge 
the  error  of  her  caus 

The  world  admits  flint  the  men  who  won  the  bloody  Held  of 
Chickamauga  and  charged  with  Pickett  up  the  flaming  slopes 

Gettysburg  gave  to  military  annals  a  new  standard  of  per- 
sonal valor,  beside  which  the  grenadiers  who  fought  at  Lodi 
and  Austerlitz  seem  like  the  painted  soldiers  of  a  gala  day 
par;* 

The  <>n>>  grand  compensation  of  the  Civil  War  is  the  fact  that 
it  kept  the  South  in  the  American  union,  and  preserved  her 
splendid  citizenship  for  the  glory  of  the  greal  republic. 

As  the  foundations  of  the  world  rest  upon  the  lowest  strata, 

the  foundations  of  organized  society  resl  upon  the  mass  of 
people.  And  as  the  volcanic  forces  of  nature  burst  from 
subterranean  depths  and  pile  burning  mountains  on  the  conti- 
nents, so  do  the  pent  up  forces  of  human  nature  sometimes 
hurst  all  hounds  of  restraint,  and  in  periods  of  great  sti 
hurl  npon  society  some  greal  soul,  who.  like  a  burning  brand, 
is  hot  with  the  flame  and  fury  of  the  elements  which  gave  him 
birth. 

Thus  does  Napoleon,  thai  imperial  incarnation  of  genius  and 
ambition,  stride  like  ,-i  Collosus  the  period  of  the  French  revo- 
lution. 

And  thus  does  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  greatesl  soul  that  ever 
flamed  across  I  sky  of  human  history,  dominate  the  period 
of  the  civil  War. 

Liberty  was  his  ideal.     Justice  was  his  religion. 

I'i  him  th.-  ideal  of  American  citizenship  found  expression 
and  example. 


32        Report  of  A.ndersonville  Moni  mint  Commission 

■'Willi  malice  toward  none,  and  charity  for  all,"  the  great 
emancipator  Led  his  people  out  of  the  wilderness  of  dis-union 
and  strife,  oul  of  the  nighl  and  storm  of  war,  into  the  beauty 
and  glory  of  unity  and  peace. 

Standing  on  the  greatesl  battlefield  of  that  war,  where  for 
three  terrible  days  the  grim  reaper  had  wroughl  the  harvest 
of  death,  and  where  side  by  side  in  the  peace  of  eternity,  the 
bine  and  the  gray  found  the  fellowship  of  heroic  souls, — speak- 
ing to  those  who  had  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  dedicating 
thai  field  as  a  resting  place  for  the  unnumbered  thousands  who 
had  there  given  their  lives  that  the  nation  might  live, — Abra- 
ham Lincoln  said : 

"We  cannot  dedicate,  we  eannol  consecrate,  we  cannot  hal- 
low this  ground.  The  brave  men  living  and  dead,  who  strug- 
gled here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add 
or  detract." 

"The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember  what  we 
say  here;  but  it  can  uever  forget  what  they  did  here. 

•|1  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the 
unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus  far  so 
nobly  advanced." 

And  as  we  stand  here  today,  in  the  presence  of  the  heroic 
diisi  of  these  men  who  died  so  bravely  for  the  cause  they  loved, 
we  realize  how  idle  is  human  speech. 

Willi  what  more  than  living  eloquence  their  cold  lips  bid  us 
to  bear  witness  how  they   met  the  duly  laid  on  them. 

How  they  speak  to  us  of  the  duty  of  citizenship, — the  sacred- 
ness  of  free  government, — the  wickedness  of  treason.  Of  the 
priceless  heritage  of  human  liberty,  and  the  glory  of  the  Amer- 
ean  union. 

What  memories  surround  this  spot.  Memories  of  many  a 
hard  fonghl  field  where  valor  outdid  endurance. 

Tender  memories,  of  banners  more  beautiful  than  rainbow 
tints,  borne  willi  loving  pride  through  the  war's  fierce  flame. 

Grand  memories,  of  chivalry  ami  heroism.  Glorious  memo- 
ries, of  victory  and  the  triumph  of  Liberty  and  justice. 

Sad  memories,  of  those  who  fell  on  bloody  fields,  of  comrades 
lorn  with  shol   and  shell,     and   those  who  died   in   prison  pens. 

It  is  one  thing  to  die  ;i  soldier's  death  in  the  bailie's  glori- 
ous tumult.     Il  is  another  thing  to  die  in  the  hopelessness  and 


\)\  34  &IPTION    OP    Till     MON1    ft 

helplessness  of  the  prison  pen,  alone  with  vermin  and  disease, 
and  the  horror  of  self  consciousness, 

In  th«'  whirlwind  of  the  charge,  amid  the  roar  of  the  con 
diet,  the  screaming  shells,  the  flash  of  bristling  steel,  the 
shouts  of  contending  hosts:  when  the  frenzy  of  strife  lends 
unnatural  courage  ;ni«l  valor  leads  the  way  t<>  victory,  the  grim 
destroyer  greets  the  soldier,  dad  in  garments  of  glory,  and 
robbed  of  all  his  terror. 

Bui  here,  in  the  loathsome  prison  pen,  the  soul  of  the  repub 
lie's  best  manhood  met  the  <o>d  of  battles  alone  and  unafraid. 

Here  the  spirit  of  the  Anglo  Saxon,  bred  through  tin-  martyr 
dom  of  the  ages,  mel  and  endured  and  triumphed  over  death, — 
for  liberty. 

Lei  us  who  arc  her.'  privileged  t<>  stand  in  tin-  sacred  pres 
ence  of  their  heroic  dust,  be  consecrated  again  to  the  cause  of 
human  righteousn   — 

Lei  os  be  made  t<»  feel  here  Bomewhal  of  that  inspiration 
which  exalted  them;  to  appreciate  more  fully  than  before  the 
duty  of  an  American  citizen.  To  realize  in  some  degree  how 
precious  is  liberty;  how  priceless  is  our  system  of  government  ; 
how  glorious  is  OUT  common  country:  how  splendid  its  des- 
tiny. 

And  l.-t  us  here  again  resolve,  by  all  the  precious  and  tender 
memories  of  our  glorious  past,  '"that  this  government  of  the 
people,  and  for  the  people,  and  by  the  people  shall  not  perish 
from  the  earth. " 


34        Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 


Dedication    Address  of  General  ('.  k.   Boardman. 

We  have  eome  Prom  one  distanl  state  into  another  to  perform 
;i  duty  assigned  us  by  our  people  whom  we  serve. 

"We  have  traveled  in  the  print  of  olden  wars.  Vei  all  the 
land  was  green  and  love  we  found  and  pence  where  fire  and 

war  had  been." 

We  have  come  from  one  of  the  younger  to  one  of  the  oldesl 
states  in  our  union.  And  we  descendants  of  those  brave  enough 
to  fight  in  battle  for  their  belief  have  also  eome  from  ancestors 
great  enough  to  teach  us  in  looking  back  on  a  period  of  bitter 
confliel  constanl  ly  to  remember  these  words :  "And  so  I  charge 
thee  by  the  thorny  crown  and  by  the  cross  on  which  the  Savior 
bled  and  by  your  own  soul's  hope  of  fair  renown,  let  something 
good  be  said." 

We  have  come  to  a  state  not  only  old  in  years  but  strong  in 
patriotic  purpose  and  rich  in  historical  inspiration, — a  state 
the  \ ralor  of  whose  people  stands  an  enduring  encouragement 
to  fortitude  and  courage.  A  state  that  in  colonial  days  stood 
as  a  bulwark  against  the  enemies  to  the  south  and  whose 
people  under  the  skillful  leadership  of  Governor  Oglethorpe 
rendered  lasting  aid  to  the  greal  cause  of  independence. 

Other  things  in  the  history  of  Georgia  stand  out  ;is  ,-i  guiding 
beacon  light  even  as  the  north  star  at  night  serves  a  safe  guide 
to  the  mariner.  Georgia  from  the  first  permitted  her  people  to 
live  in  religious  tolerance.  Georgia's  delegates  to  the  first 
convention  at  Philadelphia  were  authorized  "To  join  in  any 
measure  which  they  might  think  calculated  for  the  common 
good." 

In  the  revolution  Georgia  stood  staunch,  though  suffering 
heavily  From  the  armies  of  the  English  and  the  Tories  to  the 
south;  staunch  to  such  an  extent,  in  Pact,  thai  in  proportion  to 
population  she  is  said  to  have  losl  more  men  and  property  than 
any  other  of  the  thirteen  colonies.  The  records  show  thai 
Georgia  enlisted  3,873  men  for  the  Revolution;  for  the  Mexican 
War  2,132  men:  for  the  civil  war  112,000,  of  whom  one-fifth 
lost  their  lives.  In  the  war  with  Spain  her  full  quota  and  more 
was  given  with  the  oilier  states. 

Some  messages  brillianl  in  utterance  and  as  perpetual  as 
monuments  in  good  etl'eet   have  been  given  in  time  of  stress  to 


BBIOADU  R   Cll  m,i  i  S    R.    BOABDM  \\ 


I  M  S4  RIPTION    OP    I  ill     .M.»\i    mi  \  | 

1,1,1  nation  bj   men  of  Georgia,  and  they  are  worthy  of  repeti 
tion  on  Buch  an  occasion  as  this  ■ 

Alexander  A.  Stephens  has  told  us:  "Without  intelligence, 
virtue,  integrity  and  patriotism  on  the  pari  of  the  people,  no 
^Public  or  representative  government  can  be  durable  or 
stable." 

,;,N    a   <;    Haygood,  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  the  pa..., 

r;n,,a  of  desolation  before  him,  advised  his  people  as  follows: 

us  cultivate  industry  and  economy,  practice  virtue  and 

•,,,M1'"-   w;,lk   '»   truth   and   righteousness,  and   push   on   with 

strong  hearts  and  g I  hop,.*." 

Frmn  the  Adiutant   General  of  Georgia  comes  this  modern 
Pat™tic  sentiment:     "The  people  of  this  state,  while  loving 
the  memories  of  the  past  are  true  to  the  conditions  of  the  prea 
ent.     \\,  are  absolutely  loyal  to  the  flag  of  our  fathers,  the 
flag  .,t  our  children  and  the  flag  of  our  country." 

Wi    come>  therefore,  with  respect   and  admiration   for  such 

state  with  such  a  record  and  with  such  people  We  come 
,;,«'-  **h  *arm  hearts  for  the  Southland,  for  we  are  mindful  of 
!>>"  hospitality,  yea,  more,  the  tender  care  which  our  sister 
™te'  s,,,,th  Carolina,  gave  to  our  sick  Wisconsin  soldiers  a1 
Charleston,  in  1898,  when  the  war  with  Spain  was  being  waged 
"'"  ",f,/"ns  t,,,•'•,■  opened  their  homes  for  the  care  of  the  aick- 
e  the  dead  burial  becoming  soldiers  of  the  nation ;  preserved 
the  records  pertaining  to  them,  and  in  ,,-,,-,  w;iv  dK,d;,v,,|  , 
degree  of  thoughtfulness,  deep  regard  and  strength  of  sympa 
thetic  spirit  that  we  of  Wisconsin  will  cherish  a.  an  ael  of 
oobleness  jholly,  this  deed  of  the  chivalrous  south  man  and  the 
merciful  kindness  of  the  generous  south  woman. 

'"  ","'1  ;I  Btate,  to  such  a  section,  among  such  people  and  in 
Buch  a  spirit,  we  of  Wisconsin  have  come  to  dedicate  a  monu- 
ment  to  our  soldier  dead  which  we  have  builded  from  Georgian 
granite  and  with  the  help  of  Georgia  men. 

Through   memory's  mystic  glamor  we  seek  to  discern  the 

W"  li:,v"  ""'  '" '"  discover  defects  in  the  dead  or  the 

,   ';"-•     U  '■'■"""•  conscious  thai  a  repressed   rebuke  may  be 

Jelpful  to  the  quick.     We  are  here  with  a  heart  fell  -pose 

'■"•»  is  only  with  the  heart  thai  hearts  may  be  won 

"'"",  ,a  ""l""'1  "■  monument   for  the  soldiers  bnill   of  the 
l""|,|"s  love'       °   monument   to  men  and  w ■„.  for  "the 


38        Report  of  Andersonville  Moni  jient  Commission 

biography  of  the  man  is  only  an  episode  in  the  epic  of  the 

family." 

Ours  is  a  monument  to  men  who  endured  the  tesl  of  toil  and 
travail,  service  and  sacrifice  Tor  their  country's  good.  A 
monument  to  the  miseries  of  the  mothers  and  the  woes  of  all 

1  he   noble   women  of  t  he   war. 

Bu1  it  should  ever  be  contemplated  in  peace  and  righteous- 
ness. 

Man  with  his  puny  efforts  seeks  to  imitate  eternity  by  build- 
ing what  tie  hopes  to  be  everlasting  Landmarks. 

The  acts  of  those  who  served  and  suffered  are  recorded  in 
eternity.  The  spirit  in  which  they  acted  is  the  permanent  at- 
tribute of  mankind  and  on  the  spirit  in  which  this  structure 
lias  been  reared  we  rely  for  its  permanence  rather  than  in  its 
massiveness  or  solidity  of  design.  Its  real  majesty  no  more  lies 
in  its  cost  in  dollars  than  does  the  true  greatness  of  a  ruler 
lie  in  the  pomp  and  pageantry  with  which  lie  surrounds  himself. 
The  truly  great  have  ever  been  modest  and  plain  of  style. 

We  have  set  up  this  monumenl  to  the  memory  of  the  men 
Prom  our  state  and  the  entire  country  who  followed  their  flag 
through  day  and  night;  through  Hie  drought  and  the  flood; 
through  sickness  and  starvation;  through  prison  and  stockade 
• — even  into  the  jaws  of  red  death. 

Think  of  the  spirit  that  must  have  animated  the  soldiers  of 
both  north  and  south  to  enable  them  to  stand  the  strain  of  the 
gigantic  struggle  in  which  they  engaged;  think  of  the  tremen- 
dous fight  they  made  for  things  spiritual  and  material:  and, 
thinking  of  this,  can  we  for  a  moment  permit  ourselves  to 
doubt  1  he  value  to  the  nation  of  keeping  such  a  spirit  alive,  t  hat 
we  may  fight  again  if  necessary,  but  another  time  for  the  whole 
United  States  and  for  the  Tinted  States  only?  Let  us  have 
peace,  yet  let  us  keep  ourselves  prepared  to  maintain  it. 

So  we  have  budded  our  monument  not  only  as  a  tribute  of 
gratitude  to  our  patriotic  dead,  but  also  that  our  youth,  as 
they  come  to  manhood,  may  nol  forgel  :  that  our  country  may 
never  Lack  faithful  defenders,  men  who  will  have  the  love  of 
God  in  their  hearts,  the  courage  of  their  convictions  and  the 
bravery  of  their  ancestors  in  their  breasts. 

The  sacrifices  of  the  soldier  and  the  seaman  are  in  vain  if 
we  are  not  prepared   on   every  necessary  occasion  to  emulate 


I  M  ><  RJPTION    OF    l  ill      MON1    HI  \  l 

their  example.  It  will  not  do  for  us  to  saj  we  can  prepare 
when  the  time  comes.  Like  the  mas  who  draws  liis  weapon, 
we  must  be  prepared  to  acl  with  accuracy  and  certainty,  for 
the  warfare  of  the  future  will  be  as  surely  along  lines  of  per 
feci  organization,  equipment  and  training  as  are  the  modern 
campaigns  In  the  manufactures  and  the  trades. 

us  hope,  then,  that,  among  other  results,  this  monument 
will  help  keep  alive  an  interest  in  the  military  affairs  of  our 
country.  The  wisdom  of  our  greatest  forefathers  has  ever 
pointed  out  the  necessity  of  maintaining  our  military  for  self 
use  and  for  the  protection  to  life  and  property;  al  the  Bame 
time  the  spirit  of  our  constitution  as  it  has  done  in  the  past, 
should  continue  to  be  followed,  and  the  subordination  of  the 
military  to  the  civil  power  ever  be  maintained.  Let  us  in- 
crease and  perfect  our  regular  army  until  it  keeps  pace  with 
our  increase  in  population  and  wealth,  so  that  we  do  aol 
become  too  tempting  an  object  for  aggression  from  without. 
Let  un  teach  our  youth  to  build  up  and  properly  care  for  his 
physical  being.  Let  us  teach  him  prompt  obedience,  which  is 
the  corollary  for  the  execution  of  orders  both  civil  and  mili- 
tary. Let  as  teach  him  to  handle  the  rifle  and  to  shoot  s1  raight . 
This  now  is  and  should  be  the  principal  work  of  the  militia, 
for  health  fulness,  willingness  to  obey  orders,  and  marksman- 
p  are  the  prime  requisites  for  good  soldiers,  be  they  regu- 
lars, militia  or  volunteers. 

Let   this  moment   be  an  inspiration  to  the  militia. 

Remember  that  the  battles  of  New  Orleans,  King's  .Mountain 
and  Saratoga  were  won  by  the  militia,  and  that  the  great  hulk 
of  all  the  Boldiers  in  the  civil  war  were  militia. 

The  nation  that  resorts  to  mercenaries  is  in  decay  and  the 
draft   marks  a  dangerous  loss  in  public  sentiment. 

Build  up  the  monuments  to  valor  and  patience  and  sacrifice, 
l>ut  make  them  permanent  through  the  eternal  spirit  of  patri- 
otic preservation   of  the  individual   and   through    him   of  the 

nation  which   is  all   ours  by  a   common   bond  of  motherhood. 

Education,  real  practical  education  thai  (its  men  for  the 
trad  ell  ;is  for  the  professions  and   for  genuine  work, 

coupled  with  patriotism  and  training  in  the  practical  essentials 
of  military  duty,  make   for  the  true   greatness  of  a   people. 

I.    ery  added  d<  g  SOmplishment   in  this  direction   makes 


in        Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 

for  insured  greatness.  This,  among  other  greal  purposes,  is 
one  of  the  inspirations  that  should  ever  emanate  from  our 
monument. 

Over  our  internal  questions  we  have  no  real  cause  for  force 
or  blows.  The  red  flag  we  should  relegate  to  regions  where 
the  battle  of  the  ballot  is  not  provided  for  and  where  no  fight- 
ing forum  like  that  of  a  free  press  and  a  free  public  rostrum 
for  argument  is  furnished.  No  honest  law  abiding  interests 
need  ever  fear  the  military  here.  Our  soldiers  of  the  United 
States  have  ever  stood  for  protection,  law,  order  and  fair  play. 

Every  individual  is  actuated  largely  by  the  instinct  of  self 
preservation.  Make  that  task  as  easy  as  is  consistent  with 
honesty,  industry  and  frugality  and  public  dangers  from  within 
become  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  preservation  of  our  states  with  their  government  for 
themselves  within  themselves  is  furnishing  experimental  sta- 
tions for  legislation  and  the  solution  of  economic  questions  thai 
are  invaluable  to  our  national  life,  and  in  them,  as  in  the 
laboratories  of  the  specialist  and  the  inventor,  are  worked  out 
remedies  for  public  ills  and  methods  for  public  advancement. 
The  ambitions  of  the  mere  agitators  cannot  wreck  our  common 
weal  so  long  as  the  final  arbitration  lies  in  an  appeal  to  the 
common  sense  of  all  the  people,  and,  so  long  as  we  continue  to 
put  a  premium  on  study  and  thought  and  wTork  and  discus- 
sion, the  great  asset  of  common  sense  will  not  become  impaired 
in  value. 

The  winders  of  science,  invention  and  production  are  sure  to 
be  followed  by  changes  in  the  general  plan  of  government, 
equally  startling  at  first,  and  to  those  grown  old  working  ac- 
cording to  one  set  of  ideas  and  methods  at  first  thought  equally 
revolutionary. 

Therefore  those  who  have  their  hearts'  interest  in  the  influ- 
ences  which  they  hope  to  see  this  mass  of  granite  exert,  will 
look  also  for  the  development  of  civic  courage  and  civic  fore- 
sight as  one  of  its  results. 

The  heroism  of  home  equals  the  bravery  of  battle.  The 
courage  to  act  according  to  honest  convictions  oftentimes 
matches  the  stoicism  that  buoys  one  up  to  sustain  prison  pri- 
vations. This  spirit  will  be  needed.  It  is  Deeded  now.  We 
must  set  the  example  and  teaeh  our  young  to  sustain  it. 


I  )\  ;<  ripth »\  op  i  in    Moni  \n  n  i  n 

We  iniisi  keep  on  learning  thai  Laziness  and  Labor  make  an 
boly  consorts.     We  must  understand  this  more  thoroughly  be 
fore  we  finish.     Also  that   do  artificial  dignity  should   be  al 
tached  to  wealth  or  to  the  professions,  but  thai  the  real  crown 
of  merit  belongs  to  the  man  who  honestly  and  efficiently  works, 
no  matter  what  his  occupation  may  be. 

Those  men  who  sin-ink  Prom  honesl  toilers  and  move  aboul 
continually  gloved  against  Imaginary  contamination  are  mild 
canker  spots  on  our  civilizal  ion. 

The  mushroom  aristocracy  of  wealth,  really  rich  only  in 
selfishness  and  disregard  of  everything  contrary  to  their  own 
wishes,  is  as  far  removed  from  true  nobility  as  the  north  star 

is  distant    from  t  he  sout  hern  cross 

It   is  equally  dangerous  when   actuated   by  vanity  and  the 
•I:  for  satiety  as  the  reckless  ribaldry  and  the  violent   va 
porings  of  some  of  the  senseless  Leaders  of  the  so-called  so- 
cialistic movements  or  the  doglike  demagogues  baying  at  the 
moon  of  their  imagination. 

In  the  civil  war  there  was  an  organization,  made  up  largely 
of  Wisconsin  regiments,  that,  for  iis  steadiness  in  battle  and 
fearlessness  under  tire,  has  passed  into  history  as  the  "Iron 
Brigade.'1  So  it  IS  QOW  as  it  was  Ihen.  Wisconsin  men  at 
the  front  then.  Wisconsin  now  at  the  front,  in  the  march  of 
progressive  government.  Wisconsin  with  her  wealth  of  true 
men  and  women.  Wisconsin  with  her  wealth  of  material 
things.  Jour  Wisconsin.  My  Wisconsin.  My  cradle  of  birth 
and  training  and  faith,  and  I  hope  my  grave  of  death.  Wis 
cousin  with  her  proud  motto  of  "Forward."  Forward,  Wis 
eonsin.  On,  Georgia,  On!  Forward  our  people.  Forward  <>ur 
country.  On  with  all  of  the  states.  All  for  each,  and  each  for 
all.      All    for  the   welfare  of  OUT  people   and    the   betterment    of 

our   race.      All    for   the    advancement    of   good    government. 
Joins  Wisconsin   with  them  all.  and   may  the  union   be  ever 

Lasting.      Nbl    Only   with   those   who  shoulder  to   shoulder  sto-.d 

the  supreme  test,   bul    also   with   those  states  thai    hold   our 

blessed  dead,  and  in  whose  soul  is  the  n-i\  of  our  people's  blood. 

Charge,  Wisconsin,  Charge!     On,  Georgia,  On!     And  as  we 

move  along,  "Give  us  the  strength  to  encounter  that   which 

ifl  to  Come,  that    we  may  be  brave  in   peril,  constant    in   tribuhi 

tion,  temperate  in  wrath,  and   iii  all  changes  of  fortune  and 
down  to  the  gates  of  death,  Loyal  and  loving  to  one  another." 


\-       Report  of  A.ndbsrsonvtlle  Moni  mint  Commission 

Events  such  as  this  dedication  should  help  to  make  as  be 
lieve   thai    Americanism,  Nationalism,   h;is  risen   indeed.     Be 
lmi    troubled   then   for  the   future   for  our  youth   with   brave 
hearts  and  willing  hands  will  rule  the  Land  and,  rule  it  well. 

■  Down  t be  broad  vale  of  tears  afar 

The  spectral  camp  is  fled; 
Faith  shineth  as  a  morning  star, 

Our  ghostly  fears  are  dead." 

Stimulated  by  the  example  of  the  men,  the  deeds,  and  the 
times  which  Wisconsin's  memorial  bere  will  help  to  perpetu- 
ate, we  should  await  the  approach  of  the  future  serene  in  oui 
confidence  in  our  country's  safety  and  progress  and  with  the 
heartfelt,  steadfast  purpose  of  endeavoring-  by  our  acts  to 
prove  our  gratitude  toward  the  grand  old  heroes  who  sacri- 
ficed themselves  for  us. 


Address  of  D.    G.    James,    President    of    the    Commission, 
Turning  the  Monument  Over  to  the  Governor. 

Comrades,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

The  duties  devolving  upon  me  of  transferring  this  mon- 
ument, the  fruits  of  ardent  toil,  over  to  the  authorities  who 
created  the  commission  is  not  of  my  own  seeking. 

This  shaft  was  not  raised  to  celebrate  any  victory,  to  en- 
gender any  feelings  of  discord  or  revive  unpleasant  remem- 
brances of  the  past.  It  is  erected  by  the  state  of  AVisconsin 
as  a  mark  of  appreciation  and  gratitude  for  her  loyal  sons  who 
suffered  on  these  grounds  from  March,  1864,  to  April,  186.").  for 
what  they  knew  to  be  patriotic  principle. 

It  is  not  my  mission  to  allude  to  the  suffering  they  endured 
during  those  fifteen  long  months.  A  person's  sense  of  loyalty 
can  be  measured  by  such  a  test  as  these  men  were  put  to.  A  man 
can  go  to  battle  and  lace  the  death-dealing  shot  and  shell,  not 
knowing  or  seeing  what  fate  awaits  him;  he  can  participate  in 
the  perilous  charge,  or  resist  the  same.  There  is  excitement  for 
the  brief  period,  and  glory  in  the  victory.  Bu1  when  he  is  shut 
up  in  a  pen  with  scant  food  and  clothing  and  no  shelter  but 
the  canopy  of  the  heavens,  dying  by  inches  from  disease  and 


Will  i"\     OF     I  HI.     M"\l    Ml  M  1   I 

w  ounds,  with  do  loving  mother  or  friend  to  bathe  his  face  or  \\  et 
bis  parched  lips;  seeing  bis  comrades  around  him  momentarily 
breathing  thru-  lastj  he  who  endures  all  this  without  seeking  any 
dishonorable  relief  from  bo  untimely  an  end  i>>  a  hero.  Wis 
gin  has  in  yonder  cemetery  over  three  hundred  Buch  patriots, 
and  many  more  occupy  unknown  graves  between  here  ami  their 
homes  in  the  far  north,  not  having  strength  to  reach  their 
friends  and  homes  after  receiving  tin-  Long  coveted  parole. 
And  there  were  others  who  endured  all  this    yet   fortunately 

hod  their  homes  before  their  death.    For  the  memory  of  all 
these  we  C«me   here   today   tu   do   honor. 

.in  behalf  of  our  comrades,  1  wish  to  express  our  gratitude 
t«>  the  memory  <•!'  that  grand  man,  Father  Hamilton  oL"  .Macon, 
who  made  his  weekly  pilgrimage  to  the  stockade  and  gave  such 
little  delicacies  as  he  could  ami  administered  spiritual  comfort 
t<>  the  dying.  Oh.  what  a  reunion  this  would  he  if  he  could  he 
here  today  in  body  and  pronounce  the  invocation  !     We  will  all 

re  him  as  long  a-  memory  lasts.  We  also  feel  a  sense  of 
ward  the  guard  "ii  the  stockade,  and  also  to  Miss 
S  una  J  >ixmutr>  and  others,  for  the  letters  they  wrote  to  the 
authorities  deploring  the  condition  of  the  prisoners  and  begg 
for  their  relief ;  and  to  numberless  other  administering  angels  who 
took  compassion  on  the  few  who  escaped,  ami  gave  them  food 
and   - 

A  feeling  of  gratitude  goes  mil  t<>  the  ladies  of  the  Woman's 
Belief  Corps  of  America,  who  so  generously  purchased  this 
historic  >p«»t  and  turned  it  into  a  bo  beautiful  a  park.  1  cannol 
omit  the  faithful  work  done  by  the  contractor,  Mr.  ('lark,  who, 

he  monument  plainly  shows,  never  for  <>ne  minute  tried  to 
ork  or,  to  his  knowledge,  to  use  any  undesirable 
material;  ami  In-  was  always  }>h-asant  under  the  many  obstacles 
witii  which  he  met. 

ernor  Davidson,  through  yon,  now  standing  at  the  head 
of  •  te  of  Wisconsin,  in  the  name  <>f  all  those  loyal 

sons  whose  remains  repose  in  yonder  cemetery  and  the  count- 
a  numbers  who  occupy  unknown  gr  ad  whose  spirit- 

now  hover  aboul   as,  together  with  the  mothers,  wives,  sisl 
ami  friends  and  all  others  who  are  so  fortunate  ;is  -till  to  live 
ami  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  victory,   I   desire  i"  express  our 
heartfell  gratil  sacrifices  yon  have'  made  in  lea 


H        Report  oi    Andersonville.  Moni  ment  Commission 

the  affairs  of  state  to  take  a  Long  journey  to  pay  tribute  to  thes< 
noble  dead  who  Laid  down  their  Lives  for  what  they  believed  to 
be  a  principle.  Since  our  departed  comrade,  David  Williams, 
introduced  the  bill  for  an  appropriation  to  erect  this  shaft,  you 
and  your  predecessor,  Governor  La  Follette.  have  rendered  ng 
valuable  aid.  You,  while  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
later  at  the  head  of  state,  have  taken  great  interest  m  this  work, 
without  which  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  complete  it. 

And  now.  in  behalf  of  the  commissioners  who  have  worked 
industriously  and  harmoniously,  each  taking  a  deep  interest  in 
the  work  and  performing  it  with  a  pleasure,  we  wish  to  thank 
them  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts. 

Governor  Davidson,  we  here  surrender  our  trust  and  turn  the 
same  over  to  you,  the  guardian  of  all  state  property,  hoping 
you  can  say  of  us  as  one  of  old  said,  "Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servants.'' 


GOVERNOR    DAVIDSON'S  ADDRESS. — ACCEPTING  THE    MONUMENT. 

Wisconsin  bends  its  head  in  sorrow  today.  The  recollections 
of  the  history  here  enacted,  which  occasions  our  presence  with 
you.  has  enshrouded  our  minds  with  sadness  mingled  with  silent 
admiration.  Standing  upon  the  site  of  the  famous  Anderson- 
ville  prison — sacred  ground  to  all  America — I  give  voice  to  the 
state's  deepest  consciousness  of  the  sacrifices,  the  endurance  and 
the  patriotic  devotion  of  her  soldier  prisoners  to  principles  to 
which  they  had  dedicated  their  lives.  As  an  evidence  of  the 
sincere  appreciation  of  their  deeds,  although  Ave  fully  realize 
thai  its  massive  structure  and  beautiful  outlines  are  hopelessly 
insufficient  properly  to  commemorate  the  historic  significance, 
the  state  of  Wisconsin  has  had  erected  this  monument  in  honor 
of  her  sons  who  suffered  and  died  here. 

War  is  indeed  a  cruel  legislator.  In  its  name  are  committed 
deeds  which  cause  reason  to  stagger  and  civilization  to  recoil 
upon  itself.  The  great  Civil  War,  for  the  interpretation  of 
the  fundamental  instrument  of  our  government,  decreed  that 
while  every  individual  within  our  boundaries  is  a  citizen  ot 
his  respective  commonwealth,  he  is  also  a  citizen  of  one  central 
jMvernment,  supreme  over  all  states,  finding  its  existence  in  the 


Govi  bnob  .1  wii  .   o.    Davidson. 


I  )i  S<  RIPTION    OF   mi:    MONl   mix  [  I  i 

amalgamation  of  commonwealths,  and  one  Prom  which  do  Btate, 
once  admitted,  should  have  a  right  t<>  secede.    The  war  was 

-  it  was  inevitable.  For  generations  suspicion,  jeal- 
ousy  and  sectional  envy  bad  aroused  those  passions  which  <>nly 
war  could  subdue,  and  in  whose  smoldering  embers  would  be 
re-awakened  thai  Bpiril  of  unity  and  fraternity  essential  to  the 
broadesi  national  existence.  It  was  a  war  withoul  parallel  in 
the  annals  of  history.  Personal  ambition  and  the  desire  for 
national  aggrandizemcnl  found  oo  consideration  here.  Both 
s,  American  by  birth  and  education,  could  never  have  sac- 
rificed themselves  by  the  tens  <>t*  thousands  excepl  upon  the  be- 
lief that  they  were  fighting  for  a  principle  which  was  greater 
than  all  worldly  things.  The  courage,  the  constancy  and  the 
endurance  of  the  Southern  Boldier  was  sever  surpassed.  The 
pluck,  the  patriotism  and  the  persistence  of  the  Northern  vol- 
unteer was  never  excelled.  The  decision  which  those  four  years 
of  conflict  announced  was  sealed  by  the  hundreds  of  battle- 
fields where  they  fought,  and  the  thousands  of  graves  which 
have  ridged  every  state. 

The  civil  war  taughl  the  world  the  value  of  American  men. 
It  produced  a  new  type, — Hie  citizen  soldier.  The  hundreds  <>!' 
thousands  <»r  men  who  responded  t<>  the  call  of  battle,  both  from 
the  North  and  the  South,  were  not  men  trained  in  the  sehooi 
of  militarism.  They  were  not  men  who  e  chosen  profession  was 
that  of  slaughter  and  pillage.  They  came  from  the  peaceful 
pursuit-  .  men   trained  in  the  ails  and   industries  of  a 

commercial  ami  agricultural  people.  The  artisan,  the  farmer, 
the  student  and  the  professional  man.  thinking  not  of  selfish 
interests  nor  of  personal  gain, —  these  were  the  men  whose  brav- 
and  endurance  made  the  civil  war  the  LMv.-itest  struggle  in 
history.  The  world  had  often  seen  gigantic  armies.  Military 
hord  pt  over  Asia  and  Europe,  destroying  cities,  con- 

quering empires,  ami  turning  back  the  hand  of  progress.  These 
v.-i^r  armies  gathered  by  the  command  of  law,  by  purchase  and 
by  physical  force,  fought  for  the  spoils  of  conquest,  for  monarch- 
ical aggrandizement  or  to  satisfy  the  personal  ambitions  of  a 
military  despot.  The  citizen  of  "t;i.  seeking  only  the  safety  of 
his  country,  required  but  the  knowedge  of  his  country's  need 
to  offer  himself  for  the  defense  of  principles  which  were  i n^t it u- 
tional  in  in-  i.     iy  soldier  of  th<»s,.  trying  times  gained 


48        Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 

for  himself  immortal  honor  in  the  consciousness  of  duty  well 
performed.  Thousands  gained  it  on  the  field  of  combat,  at  the 
cannon's  mouth,  amid  the  storm  of  smoke  and  battle;  thousands 
of  others  found  it  in  the  saddest  chapter  of  a  soldiers'  life, — 
the  languor  and  yearnings  of  the  military  prison. 

To  die  on  the  field  of  battle  in  the  heat  of  the  conflict,  con- 
scious of  the  victory  of  his  arms,  has  always  been  the  wish  of 
the  soldier.  To  pass  away  thus  is  to  die  alone  on  the  open 
plains,  or  by  the  side  of  comrades  in  arms.  They  receive  his 
dying  words.  They  give  his  body  the  last  sad  rites  of  a  soldier. 
They  tell  those  dear  to  him  that  he  fought  bravely  and  died  a 
soldier's  death.  In  such  a  scene  there  is  inspiration;  there  is 
glory  in  such  a  death.  Music  and  poetry  for  ages  have  found 
it  their  choicest  theme. 

Turn  now  to  the  soldier  who  languished  behind  the  prison  bars. 
Hunger,  thirst  and  disease  claimed  him  for  their  own.  The 
free,  open  air  was  often  denied  him.  His  patriotic  sighs  and 
prayers  re-echoed  from  walls,  mute  and  dark.  The  agonizing 
throbs  of  his  heart  found  no  sympathy.  There  were  no  loving 
and  tender  hands  to  minister  to  his  dying  wishes.  What  yearn- 
ings, what  hopes,  and  what  longings  must  have  flitted  through 
his  feverish  brain?  What  scenes  of  happy  hours  his  imagination 
must  have  pictured!  And  yet  I  doubt  not  his  heart  was  free 
from  anguish  and  bitterness.  His  death  was  a  martyrdom,  as 
lofty  in  soul,  as  trying  in  courage  and  as  grand  and  holy  in  pa- 
triotic virtue  as  was  ever  attested  by  death  Cor  principle.  Re- 
call to  the  mind  of  an  aged  veteran  of  that  war  the  scenes  of 
battle.  His  head  is  thrown  back,  his  breath  quickens  and  the 
eye  flashes  with  the  spirit  of  the  events.  Recall  to  his  memory 
prison  days,  and  sadness  creeps  over  his  features  and  his  head 
is  bowed  in  sorrow.  May  the  day  soon  come  when  we  shall  have 
reached  that  stage  of  development  of  mankind,  when  in  the  solu- 
tion of  public  problems,  wars  shall  cease  and  man's  natural  in- 
stincts for  combat  give  place  to  the  more  reasonable  considera- 
tion of  an  enlightened  progress. 

The  monument  which  we  dedicate  here  today  is  sacred  to  the 
memory  of  the  military  prisoner.  11  stands  upon  a  spot  which 
will  never  be  forgotten  so  long  as  history  is  recorded.  Wiscon- 
sin offers  it  to  the  South,  untinged  with  malignity  and  bitter- 
ness,     It    is   with    pleasure   that  1    receive   this  beautiful  mon- 


RIPTION    OP   Till     MONI    Ml  N  r 

nmenl  from  the  Com  mission,  which  supervised  its  erection,  i 

it  is  wit;i  equal  pleasun  thai  I  give  it  into  the  watchful  care  and 

keeping  of  that  magnificent  organization,  the  Vyoman's  Relief 

:>s.    This  product  of  tin-  sculptor's  art  is  a  tribute  to  those 

who  died    here   for  their  country.     No   future   aire  can   have 

geater  dead  than  these;  no  graves  can  hold  holier  dust.    In  this 

hallowed  ground  are  huried  with  tin  m  the  passions  of  war.  and 

all  the  jealous  Btrife  of  sections.    Today  we  know  only  the  spirit 

of  unity  and  tin-  fraternity  of  love  and  respect.    We  behold  a 

union  firmly  established  in  the  hearts,  affe  :tions  and  loyalty  of  its 

ay  th.'  same  military  honors  to  hint  who  wore 

i  d  upon  the  w  earer  of  the  blue. 

In  Forest   Hill  Cemetery,  in  the  city  of  Madison,  are  buried 

th"  remains  of  136  sturdy  and  brave  sons  who  fought   for  the 

£    ith.     They  died  in  a  military  prison  at   that  city.     Every 

grave  bears  the  name  and  regiment  of  him  who  rests  there.    No 

Memorial  Day  passes  but  that  a  child's  gentle  hand,    as  si    I  by 

the  veterans  who  wore  the  blue,  places  a  flag  and  a  wreath  of 

flowers  upon  every  one  of  the  many  hundreds  of  soldiers'  graves 

in   that   cemetery.     The   distinction   of  uniform   was   forgotten 

with   the  announcement  of  a   r<  united   country.     They   fought 

and  died  for  convictions,  which  they  cherished.     They  were  all 

American  citizens. 

This  monument  is  not  alone  for  the  dead. — it  is  for  the  living 

-     ell.     It  is  a  tribute  to  the  dead,  an  inspiration  to  the  living. 

timent  which  language  is  too  limited  to  expr  ss 

If  inspiration  a  n  come  from  association,  if  determination  com  s 

•i  example,  if  virtue,  loyalty  and  righteousness  are  capj 
of  awakening,  then  where  in  history  is  there  an  occasion  which 
••an  so  arouse  the  love  of  principle,  the  obedience  to  law,  the 
charity,  generosity  and  inspiring  patriotism  of  American  citi- 
zenship, as  this,  here  today,  where  over  thirteen  thousand  men 
died  of  disease  and  exposure  that  a  noble  cause  might  live, 
actions  ol  the  elements  will  destroy  this  monument,  time 
ma;  all  physical  traces  of  this  place,  yet   the  impressions 

<»f  man's  noble  deeds        it   in   the  hearts  of  a  grateful  people, 
will   with   the  advancing   march   of  civilization,   grow   into  an 
even  broader  and  deeper  appreciation  of  the  character  of  I 
ican  soldier. 


50        Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 


Address  op  Mrs.  Sarah  I).  Winans,  Chairman  A.ndersonvii,le 
Prison   Board,  in    Behalp  op  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps. 

I  rovernor: 

On  behalf  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  Auxiliary  to  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  I  thank  you,  and  through  you 

the  great  stale  of  Wisconsin,  Tor  placing  on  these  grounds  a 
monument  sacred  to  the  memory  of  Wisconsin  soldiers  who 
died  in  Andersonville  Prison. 

The  bravest  are  always  the  tenderest,  and  the  endearing 
qualities  of  a  nation  may  be  measured  by  the  honor  they  pay 
to  the  patriotic  dead  who  have  given  up  their  lives  in  its 
service. 

Wisconsin  now  takes  her  place  with  Massachusetts,  Ohio, 
Rhode  Island  and  Michigan  in  fittingly  commemorating  the 
services  of  her  gallant  sons  who  chose  death  rather  than  take 
an  oath  never  again  to  bear  arms  in  defense  of  the  flag  they 
loved  so  well.  Your  act  this  day  will  reflect  added  splendor 
upon  the  achievements  of  your  noble  state  in  both  war  and 
peace. 

For  myself  and  the  entire  Board  who  have  charge  of  the 
Andersonville  Prison  grounds,  I  again  thank  you. 


Mas.  Sarah  D.  Winans 

Past  National  President  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  and  Chairman 
the    Andersonvllle    Prison      Board    of    Managers, 
21 1 1   Washington  St.,  Toll  do    Ohio. 


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JM.Ai    01     wi-i  BSONYII/LE    PRISON    GROUS 

te  i';ige.) 

!  by  the  National   U.  R,  <  .     :.'.  'Tm 
.   Monument.    I.  Outline  ol   purchased   property. 
i  ■  itline  ol   Outer  Stockade  (onl] 
1 1  all  y 

Gallowf,   where  marauders  were 
1 1.  Powd<  in   Why.'    Headquar- 

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I  taards.    17.  Roadw  ay, 
to  railroad  station.    18,  "Stockade  Greek."  a  branch 

21.  Flag   - 


Descriition  01    mi    Andersonville  Prison  Pen 


<  IHAPTEB  III. 
DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  ANDERSONVILLE  PRISON   PEN. 

A  brief  description  of  Andersonville  prison  may  be  of  inter- 
est to  the  friends  of  those  who  were  confined  in  this  hell  of 
hells. 

The  Btockade  surrounding  the  twenty^seyen  acres  was  made 
of  logs  nineteen  feel  Long  standing  on  end.  On  top  of  the 
:kade  at  regular  intervals  were  sentry  boxes,  which  shel- 
tered thirty-five  armed  sentinels.  Eighteen  feel  within  the 
stockade  was  the  dead-line.  This  was  formed  By  nailing  shits 
or  poles  to  stakes  driven  in  the  ground.  J  t'  a  prisoner  croa 
tin  dead-line,  he  was  shot  by  a  sentry,  the  sentry  in  turn  being 
rewarded  by  a  thirty-day  furlough.  This  dead-line  subtracted 
two  acres  from  the  twenty-seven,  while  aboul  six  acres  was  in 
swamp  and  creek,  leaving  for  the  prisoners  nineteen  acres. 
The  Confederate  cam])  above  had  befouled  this  creek  water 
before  the  prisoners  could  gel  it  for  cooking  and  drinking  pur- 
post  - 

At  each  corner  of  the  stockade  and  near  the  center  of  the 

si  side  were  forts  equipped  with  Large  caliber  artillery  ready 
>pen   fire  on   the  stockade  with   shot   and  shell   in  case  there 

i  any  disturbance  or  revoll  from  within  the  prison.  The 
prisoners  were  constantly  tunneling  under  the  walls,  and.  to 
prevent   their  escape,  an  outer  stockade  line  was  constructed 

120  feel    from  the  inner.      A  third  Btockade  outside  of  this  was 

commenced,  yel   never  completed. 

It  was  here  in  what  was  called  the  Empire  State  of  the  Smith 
that  the  victims  who  fell  by  starvation  and  murder  a1  the  hands 
of  the  Confederate  authorities  approximated  closely  in  num- 
bers the  victims  who  were  sacrificed  by  the  Spanish  [nquisition 
through  long  centuries  of  persecution.  .Much  has  been  said 
concerning  the  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,  which  was  succeeded 
by  a  morning  of  relief.     Bui  from  the  horrors  and  cruelties  of 


Report  of  Andersonvilee  Moni  hent  Commission 

Andersonville  there  was  do  relief  but  death,  death  by  starva- 
tion and  exposure,  the  little  vitality  drained  from  the  body 
by  gangrene,  and  the  vermin  covering  the  bodies  of  the  pris- 
oners. 

The  country  surrounding  the  prison  was  thickly  studded 
\\  ilhjmvering  pinegs^  In  the  midsl  of  these  woods,  and  with  the 
full  knowledge  of  the  highest  officers  of  the  Confederacy,  the 
union  prisoners  were  compelled  to  eat  raw  meal  ground  with 
t lie  cob,  and  cow  peas  infested  with  bugs;  and  for  want  of  fuel 
to  cook  the  food  and  to  keep  warm  they  were  allowed  to  suffer 
and  perish  during  the  cold  and  wet  weather.  Many  boys  were 
shot  while  merely  reaching  under  the  dead-line  to  get  a  drink 
of  the  less  filthy  water;  and  if  a  new  prisoner,  not  yet  knowing 
the  rules,  would  step  inside  of  the  line  for  a  stick  or  root  with 
which  to  cook  his  food  he  would,  wit li out  warning,  meet  instant 
death. 


David    G.  J  lmes 


President    Monument    Commission 

Compiler  of  this  Book 


; '  ■    !;   •  ■  )T  D.  G.  James 


CHAPTER   IV 


PERSONAL    REMINIS*  BN<  ES   OF   THE    WRITER,    l>    G. 

JAMES 


<  hi  my  arrival  home  in  April,  1865,  while  T  was  recuperat- 
ing my  health  and  strength,   I    wrote  down  Borne  of  my   rec- 
ollections while  a  prisoner  and  laid  my  notes  aside  thai  1  mighl 
them  for  further  perusal.     In  writing  this  sketch  I  am  us 
ing  the  notes  1  then  made. 

[  \\;is  captured  at  the  battle  of  Atlanta,  July  22,  1864,  to- 
iler wit  1 1  fourteen  others  of  my  regiment  who  were  on  the 
skirmish  line    thai    day.     We    were    taken    by    the  Eleventh 
Tei  Confederate  Infantry.     We  were  conducted  t<>  t In* 

rear  where   we   found   quite   a    number   of   others   assembled 
preparatory  to  migration  to  our  future  home,  Andersonyjlle, 
1      >rgia.     Our  captors  were  very   kind,  and   the^treated  us 
gentlemen.    While  we  stopped  to  resl  towards  evening,  one 
he  guards  took  a  pi<  Johnny-cake  out  of  his  haversack 

and  began  eating  it.  As  we  had  been  captured  toward  even- 
ing, he  ask..]  me  it'  I  had  had  my  supper.  I  told  him  no,  nor 
had  I  had  any  dinner  either,  for  we  had  been  fighting  Btnce 
early  in  the  morning.  He  very  generously  divided  his  corn- 
bread  with  me  and  expressed  his  sympathy,  as  we  did  nol 
>w  what  was  in  store  for  as.  After  getting  well  back  from 
the  fighting  lin.-s.  our  captors  turned   ns  over  to  the  Third 

Arkansas  Cavalry.     Then  the  pr< ss  of  robbery  commenced, 

Ich    was   repeated    every   time   our   guards   were   changed. 

si  they  took  my  hat  and  canteen;  those  of  ns  who  had  good 

•  any  attractive  garments  were  compelled  to  give  them 

ap.    Sometimes  \\  e  got  in  return  an  old  pair  of  shoes  that  would 

rcely  hold  together.    Then  they  might  throw  ns  a  pair  of 

old,  delapidated  pants  and  coat  well  stocked  with  graybacks. 

If  \  ...  .IH.nf  ^  |]l(.y  coolly  informed 


64        Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commissi! 


»\ 


us  thai  it'  we  did  not  give  them  up  they  would  blow  our  brains 
out,  and  they   backed   up  the  threal   with  a  cocked   revolver 
pointed  a1   us.     We  were  marched  thai  nighl  to  a  little  town 
called   Easl    Point,  six  miles  distant.     There,   for  reasons  un- 
known to  us.  we  remained  two  days.     During  this  time  all  was 
quiel  al  Atlanta.  We  could  hear  no  news  from  the  army  until 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day.    Their  pontoon 
train  went  by  in  greal  haste,  which  excited  our  curiosity,  and  we 
were  informed  thai  Sherman's  army  had  met  defeal  and  was 
making  a  precipitous  retreat  ;  and  that  their  pontoon  train  was 
ordered  to  bridge  the  Tennessee  river  to  intercepl  Sherman 's  re- 
treat.    The  next  morning  the  batteries  opened  up  at  Atlanta. 
One   of  our  comrades  asked  the   officer  if  their  army   wasn'1 
making  considerable  noise  in»crossing  the  Tennessee.    He  came 
back    with    an    oath,    threatening    to    shoot    the    man    for    his 
impudence.     While  at  East  Point  we  received  two  and  one- 
half  hardtacks,  made  of  shorts,  for  two  days'  rations.     The 
third  day  they  gave  us  three  of  these  hardtacks  and  started 
us  on  our  line  of  march  south.     Our  guard  eonsisted  of  a  small 
pari  of  the  54th  Georgia  Infantry,  under  command  of  a  cap- 
lain  who  was  very  kind  to  us;  also,  his  men  were  courteous 
and  they  treated  us  as  well  as  possible  under  the  circumstances. 
They  allowed  us  to  camp  in   orchards  where  we  could   gather 
green  apples  and  to  invade  cornfields  to  procure  corn,  which 
we  roasted  by  the  fires;  and  so  we  fared  sumptuously.     Two 
and  one-half  days'  march  brought  us  to  Griffin.  Georgia.     Tt 
being  rumored  thai  General  Blair  had  been  captured,  and  was 
in  our  party  disguised  as  a   private,  several  members  of  Con- 
gress who   had   served   with   the   general    walked   up   and  down 
our  line,  but    failed  to  locate  him.      After  this   inspection   was 
over  we  were  crowded  into  some  box  cars  that  they  had  been 
transporting    cattle    in.    without    cleaning.      We    were    crowded 
so  closely  that   it   was  impossible  for  all  to  sit  down  at  the  same 
time,  so  pari  would  stand  awhile  and  then  change.     This  rested 
our  weary  limbs. 

We  arrived  at  Macon  about  dark.  The  people  came  to  the 
train  to  see  the  Yankees  and  made  themselves  very  obnoxious. 
Our  guards,  as  I  have  before  mentioned,  were  not  in  sympathy 
with  the  stay-at-homes,  as  they  dubbed  them,  so  allowed  us 
prisoners  to  talk  back.  We  made  good  so  far  as  blackguard- 
ing went.     The  women  were  very  abusive,  yet  it  did  not  take 


Persona]    Reminiscences  of  D.  G   James  67 

them  a  great  while  to  become  satisfied,  as  the  guard  gave  the 
prisoners  all  the  latitude  they  desired  in  retaliating.  <>n  the 
morning  of  the  28th  we  arrived  at  our  destination,  Anderson 
\  ill*',  which  fact  was  hailed  with  joy  l>y  all  on  board,  as  our 
Limbs  were  tired  and  cramped,  and  we  had  been  without  food  for 
a  day  and  a  half,  and  with  only  five  and  a  half  crackers  made  of 
shorts  t'or  six  days.  We  had  been  informed  thai  rations  would 
be  furnished  in  abundance,  and  were  Looking  forward  to  the 
tune  when  we  could  gel  all  we  desired  to  eat.  We  were  formed 
into  two  ranks  and  marched  from  the  station  to  Captain  Wirz's 
headquarters.  Then  we  were  pul  into  detachments  of  two 
hundred  and  seventy  each,  and  every  detachmenl  was  Bub- 
divided  into  three  messes, — all  this  for  the  convenience  of 
roll  call  and  tin-  issuing  of  rations. 

When  tli.-  gate  was  opened  and  we  gol  a  virw  of  what  was 
before  us.  the  Bcene  was  indescribable.  Over  thirty  thousand 
men  on  nineteen  acres  of  ground, — without  shelter;  sonic 
naked,  others  bareheaded,  barefooted,  deformed,  and  almost 
unrecognizable  as  human  beings.  To  a  man  looking  at  it  from 
a  distance,  it  gave  the  appearance  of  a  huge  ant-hill,  with  on.' 
moving  mass  of  humanity  only  visible.  As  we  were  going 
through  the  throng,  staring  eyes  protruding  from  their  sockets 
look.-d  us  over  to  see  if  there  mighl  not  be  some  acquaintance 
among  the  new  arrivals  from  whom  they  could  hear  from  home, 
friends  at  the  front.  As  we  passed  along,  a  poor  weak  boy 
lay  beside  the  path  with  a  pail  made  of  a  bootleg,  begging  for 
some  on.-  to  gel  him  a  drink  of  water,  and  promising  that. 
'•  getting  it.  he  would  never  ask-  t\>r  anything  more.  [ 
took  the  pail  and  went  to  the  creek.  This  took  some  time,  as 
it  was  v.-i-y  difficult  to  Locate  any  one  in  that  miserable  mass. 
Poor  boy!  when  1  reached  him  he  had  breathed  his  last.  T  was 
too  late. 

Captain  Wntz. 


II.  re  we  received  our  introduction  to  the  demon  Wirz,  which 

shudder  through  our  whole  system   when  we  realized 

were  at  the  mercy  of  a  Send  incarnate.     We  were  sitting, 

ting   from  our  weary  journey,   when   Wirz  came  out   and. 

with  an  oath,  gave  the  order  to  "Qel  up!"     We  all  obeyed 

with  alacrity,  excepl   on.-  man  next  to  me.  who  could  not    hear. 

He  had  been  wounded  in  the  head,  and.  had  he  1 n  able  to 


68        Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 

hear,  w;is  too  weak  to  rise.  In  one  instanl  W'iiv.  cried  oul  at 
the  top  of  his  voice  to  shool  the  damned  Yankee  s  n  of  a 
b  —  h.  The  guard  refused  to  obey  the  command,  when  W'ir/ 
threatened  him  with  arresl  the  next  time  he  refused  to  obey. 
When  the  enrolling  was  done,  the  comrades  gathered  around 
the  wounded  in;in  and  assisted  him  to  his  feet. 

AImmM  Pour  in  the  afternoon  we  were  inarched  to  the  north 
gate.  The  outer  gate  was  thrown  open  and  the  enclosure 
filled;  then  that  gate  was  closed,  the  inside  gate  opened,  and 
the  squad  ushered  into  the  prison.  This  performance  was  re- 
peated until  all  of  us  were  shul  inside  the  stockade.  'Phis 
precaution  was  taken  to  avoid  the  prisoners  making  a  stampede, 
should  both  gates  be  open  a1  one  time.  We  had  been  informed 
thai  we  should  receive  our  daily  ration  as  soon  as  we  got  in- 
side the  gate.  We  waited  anxiously  until  they  were  through 
issuing  to  the  old  prisoners,  which  was  aboul  seven  in  the  even- 
ing. We  were  then  informed  thai  it  was  so  late  wo  would  not 
gel  anything  to  ea1  thai  night.  The  nexl  night  we  received 
one-half  pint  of  corn  meal,  with  more  cob  than  meal,  in  the 
raw  state,  but  with  neither  wood  nor  cooking  utensils.  We 
traded  our  meal  with  some  prisoners  who  had  fuel  for  some 
cooked, — they  tolling  us  pretty  heavily.  The  next  day,  when 
Wirz  was  inside  the  stockade  and  some  of  the  hoys  protested 
to  him  againsl  the  small  rations,  and  he  answered,  "You  vas 
pretty  sleek  fellows.  I  take  thai  out  of  you  fore  long." 
They  dealt  cooked  rations  to  half  of  the  prisoners  for  two 
weeks  and  raw  to  the  other  half,  alternately.  The  cooked  ra- 
tion consisted  of  a  piece  of  cornbread  aboul  two  inches  square, 
a  pint  of  cow-pea  soup,  with  aboul  three  peas  to  the  pint,  and 
two  bugs  to  each  pea.  They  were  cooked  in  the  sack,  and  with 
many  of  them  in  the  pod.    When  we  received  the  raw  ration, 

we  go1  r\cvy  day  for  fuel  a  piece  of  wood  aboul  tWO  feet  long 
and  t  wo  in  (dies  in  diameter.  After  we  had  gol  ourselves  together, 
we  organized  a  company  for  tunneling;  hut  before  we  go1  our 
tunnel  completed.  AVirz  found  out  what  we  were  doing.  lie 
informed  us  that  he  would  take  that  out  of  us.  and  he  pro- 
ceeded to  do  so  by  cult  inn-  our  rations  off  for  two  days,  telling 
us  that  he  would  starve  us  until  we  would  behave.  When  any 
one  who  had  done  the  tunneling  was  detected,  he  was  taken 
outside  and  put  into  the  chain-gang  or  the  stocks. 


Ti  rson  \i    Remind  i  \»  i  -  of  D.  G.  James  71 

Wirz  kept  forty  two  blood  hounds,  divided  into  three  packs, 
;i  man  in  charge  of  each  pack.  The  dogs  were  Lei  Loose  everj 
morning  and  taught  to  make  the  circuit  of  the  stockade.  The 
prisoners  inside  could  hear  their  howling  and  baying,  know 
ing  thai  when  the  baying  became  especially  hideous  the  dogs 
had  hit  the  trail  of  Borne  poor  prisoner  who,  after  tunnel 
ing  for  <lays  and  nights,  buoye'd  up  with  hope  of  escape, 
v  as  at  last  to  be  torn  to  pieces  by  the  bounds;  or,  if  he  suc- 

ded  in  climbing  a  tree,  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  brutes  fully 
as  much  to  be  dreaded  as  the  blood-thirsty  hounds.  If  the 
prisoner  resisted,  he  was  shot ;  if  recaptured,  lie  Avas  subjected 
to  several  grades  of  punishment,— the  first,  to  he  put  into  the 
Btanding  sinrks.  Nothing  more  barbarous  ever  was  practised 
sine,'  the  Spanish  Inquisition.  This  instrument  oi"  torture 
consisted  of  a  square  frame,  formed  by  four  upright  posts 
joined  and  fitted  with  bars  in  which  notches  were  cut  and  so 
arranged  to  secure  the  arms  at  the  wrist,  the  head  at  the  neck, 
the  legs  at  the  ankles.  The  poor  fellow  was  left  in  these  stocks 
twenty-four  hours  in  rain  or  sunshine.  If  he  survived  this,  he 
was  chained  to  a  thirty-two  pound  cannon  ball,  with  a  chain 
two  feet  long;  and  then  another  victim  Avas  generally  chained 
to  his  other  leg,  with  a  hall  weighing  sixty-four  pounds  between 
them.  The  chains  were  so  short  they  had  to  carry  the  thirty- 
two  pound  balls  by  means  of  strings  attached  to  them.  The 
sixty- four  pound  ball  was  fastened  to  a  stick  so  it  could  be 
carried  across  their  shoulders  when  they  had  to  move  about. 
This  treatment  sometimes  lasted  from  two  to  four  weeks,  de 
pending  upon  the  whim  of  Wirz.  Captain  Wirz  is  to  be  cred 
ited  with  t lie  invention  of  another  devilish  contrivance.  Twelve 
men  were  fastened,  by  means  of  iron  collars  connected  with 
short  chains,  in  a  circle,  the  chains  from  twenty  inches  to  two 
foot  in  length,  every  man  being  thus  chained  to  a  fellow  pris 
oner,  one  on  his  right,  the  other  on  his  left.  A  thirty-two  pound 
ball  was  ehained  to  the  leg  of  every  fourth  man.  These  men 
could  not  -it.  lie  or  stand  erecl  with  any  degree  of  comfort.  ye1 
they  remained  in  this  condition  four  weeks  without  shelter. 
Medicinal  aid  was  denied  the  Bici  ;  the  dead  alone  were  removed 
from  the  gang,  and  then  the  others  were  ol>li<_:<  d  to  carry  the 
extra  weight,  as  the  balls  were  allowed  to  remain  attached  to 
the  chain.     Another  cruel  punishmenl   consisted  in  fastening 


7l;        Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

the   prisoners'   Eee1    aboul    a    fool    from   the  ground,  thus  per 
mitting  them  to  lie  down  or  sil  up,  as  they  chose. 

It  was  a  source  of  very  greal  amusemenl  for  the  rebels  to  get 
up  on  ilif  stockade  and  ea1  watermelons,  then  throw  the  rinds 
over  to  tlni  prisoners  and  watch  them  scramble  after  and  de- 
vour them  with  the  avidity  of  so  many  starved  animals. 

Soon  alter  my  arrival  in  prison,  I  adopted  the  policy  of  going 
to  the  creek  to  bathe  alter  midnight  because,  fewer  were  there 
at  that  time.  During  the  day  the  creek  was  well  occupied  by 
men  drinking  and  procuring  water  for  cooking  purposes,  bath- 
ing, and  the  sink.  One  morning  about  two  o'clock,  while 
several  were  bathing  near  the  bridge,  a  guard  nearby  fired  into 
the  party  without  a  word  of  warning,  and  for  no  other  reason 
than  mere  hellishness  or  a  desire  to  get  a  furlough.  JJe  killed 
three  men  and  wounded  another.  He  was  soon  relieved  and,  J 
presume,  went  on  a  furlough.  Such  deeds  as  this  were  of 
daily  occurrence. 

Some  ingenious  fellow  of  our  number  organized  a  company 
for  tunneling.  The  plan  was  to  dig  a  well  two  feet  deep  and 
then  start  the  drift  at  a  right  angle,  carrying  the  dirt  to  the 
creek  or  swamp  to  dispose  of  it,  doing  all  the  work  at  night. 
We  always  failed  in  thus  attempting  to  escape.  We  dug  wells 
all  llic  way  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  deep,  hauling  the  dirt  up 
in  old  cans  or  in  little  wooden  buckets,  made  with  pocket- 
knives  by  splitting  the  staves  out  of  roots  mined  from  the 
grounds,  and  using  for  ropes  to  raise  the  dirt  the  clothing  from 
the  dead.  We  tried  another  method  of  tunneling,  which  al- 
most proved  successful.  We  started  from  a  shanty  near  the 
dead  line,  making  for  the  entrance  a  small  hole  which  could 
be  covered  at  day  and  uncovered  while  we  worked  at  night. 
We  evaded  the  scrutiny  of  the  inspectors  until  the  tunnel  was 
uearly  completed,  the  crusl  overhead  about  to  be  broken  and 
the  attempt  made  to  escape.  Some  one  revealed  it,  or  some  spy 
discovered  the  plan,  and  so  all  our  hopes  were  blasted.  Our 
i  at  ions  were  cut  off  two  days  for  thus  trying  to  gain  freedom. 
We  then  gave  up  tunneling  for  good. 

I  saw  one  man  shot  while  under  his  blanket  asleep.  The 
bullet  -reined  to  tear  o\'\  the  whole  top  of  his  head.  While  the 
victim  was  in  his  dying  struggle,  the  guard  stood  there  and 
laughed,  as  though  ii  was  a  huge  joke. 


Personal  Ri  m  i\  1-1  1  \«  1  >  of  I  >.  G.  James 

I  saw   another  victim  walk  over  the  dead  line  and  si1  dowii 
inside,  seeming  indifferent   to  the  cry  of  the  prisoners  to  get 
out  of  iliai  or  he  would  be  shot.    The  guard  was  prompl  to  exe 
cute   the   order,     Bred,   but    missed.     The   prisoner   remarked, 
"Pretty  close;  try  it  again."     The  rebels  looking  on  laughed 
at  the  poor  shot,  while  the  other  prisoners  dared  uot   venture 
inside  to  take  the  prisoner  out    for   Tear  of  meeting  suit  death 
themselves.    The  fiend  of  a  guard  loaded  his  nun  and  took  de 
liberate  aim:  there  was  a  sharp  crack,  and  the  poor  fellow  was 
relieved  of  his  misery,  then  left  to  lie  there  for  hours  before  be 
ing  taken  out  and  laid  beside  the  reserve  for  burial. 

About  the  first  of  September  the  rebels,  thinking  we  were  to 
remain  all  winter,  gave  us  an  opportunity  to  build  sheds.  A 
tew  of  the  stronger  weFe  detailed  to  go  outside  and  cut  and 
hew  some  of  the  pine  timber  in  the  vicinity.  Their  rations 
were  increased  to  provide  strength  to  work,  and.  as  it  also 
offered  an  opportunity  to  pick  up  chips  for  fires,  it  was  an 
vied  privilege.  One  day  I.  succeeded  in  getting  a  chance  Do 
■  ut  for  WOOd,  and.  as  we  were  returning  with  chins  in  our 
pockets  and  limhs  in  our  hands,  a  rebel  officer  near  the  gate 
made  a   rush,   kicked   the   limbs  Out    of  our   hands  and    made   us 

empty  our  pockets.  This  performance  created  a  hearty  laugh 
from   the  on-looking  rebels.     The  sheds  we  built    were   madi 

by  putting  hoards  on  poles.  While  they  afforded  shelter  from 
the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  and  from  the  rain,  the  sides  being 
open,  they  offered  little  protection  from  the  wind  or  cold. 

The  men  suffering  from  Bcurvy  and  other  diseases  were  be- 
coming mere  desperate,  occasionally  deliberately  crawling 
across  the  dead  line  in  Bpite  of  the  protests  of  fellow  prisoners, 
the  guards  never  Imsitatin-j-  to  us.'  them  as  targets. 

The  home  papers  had  noted  sometime  before  the  writer's 
capture  that  Sergeant  William  Nelson  of  the  10th  Wisconsin 
had  been  taken  prisoner.  II<-  was  a  kind,  genial  fellow  whom 
We  all  loved  at  home,  albeit  he  had  some  notions  of  Ins  own 
about  diet.  When  I  inquired  for  Sergeant  Nelson,  he  was 
pointed  nut  to  me.  The  strong,  active,  young  man  I  had  known 
-  almost  unrecognizable.  II«'  was  engaged  in  separating 
gots  from  a  piece  of  bacon  he  was  eating.  Winn  I  ad 
dressed  him  he  said.*-. My  God!  have  they  got  you  in  this  hell 

hold      I   am   glad   to  sic  you.   hut   God   knows  I    am  sorry   t" 

you  here."     He  related  his  experience  in  various  prisons  and 


i  I        Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

(old  how  at  Danville,  doI  satisfied  with  starving  and  Bhooting 
prisoners,  they  had  infected  them  with  small-pox.  When  re 
minded  that  he  was  not  so  particular  as  formerly  about  his 
diet,  he  replied,  'I  did  not  think  any  power  aside  from  thai  of 
s.-itan  himself  could  be  capable  of  perpetrating  sucli  outrages 
on  the  human  race." 

Alum!  the  tenth  September,  a  In-own  piece  of  paper  announc- 
ing an  exchange  of  prisoners  was  thrown  into  the  stockade,  Bay 
ing  they  were  to  be  exchanged  at  Savannah.  This  caused  great 
excitement.  The  old  prisoners  wore  to  be  taken  first.  On  the 
twelfth  day  of  September  the  detachmenl  under  charge  of  Ser- 
geanl  Nelson  was  ordered  to  go.  As  one  of  his  men  had  died 
that  morning-,  he  offered  to  take  me  as  substitute,  if  the  plan 
should  not  be  discovered.  That  scheme  had  been  worked  be- 
fore, and  I  must  not,  he  said,  be  disappointed  if  it  failed. 

On  the  13th  of  September  we  left,  full  of  hope  that  relief  was 
in  sight.  We  were  crowded  into  box  cars  by  guards  with  fixed 
bayonets,  which  tli3y  used  occasionally  in  spite  of  the  piteous 
cry  of  the  sick  inside  for  more  room.  One  door  was  opened  a 
little,  and  two  guards  were  stationed  at  each  side.  We  spent 
almost  two  hours  in  the  afternoon  at  Macon,  where  the  crowds 
j<  ered  us.  Some  sympathetic  women,  pitying  our  plight,  threw 
bread  to  us.  From  here  we  went  to  Charleston.  The  night  be- 
fore we  reached  that  place  there  was  bright  moonlight,  but  as  we 
neared  the  coast  we  saw  some  faint  hope  of  escape  in,  perhaps, 
being  able  to  signal  a  passing  ship.  The  condition  of  the  road 
bed  rendered  it  necessary  for  the  train  to  run  slowly.  Sonic 
of  the  prisoners  watched  their  opportunity,  when  the  guard  was 
nodding,  to  push  him  out  the  door.  The  guards  on  top  the  car, 
thinking  it  was  an  escaping  prisoner,  opened  fire  and  riddled 
him  with  bullets.  Of  the  prisoners  who  tried  by  jumping  to  the 
mound,  to  escape,  some  were  killed,  some  wounded;  and  a  very 
Few  succeeded  in  reaching  our  lines. 

We  had  been  told  along  the  line  thai  an  exchange  was  being 
made  at  Charleston,  but  upon  our  arrival  there  we  made  but  a 
shorl  stop  before  starting  northward. 

They  then  claimed  that  we  were  to  be  exchanged  at  Richmond. 
We  made  a  stop  a1  Florence,  South  Carolina,  which  relieved  us, 
as  we  were  cramped  and  sorely  in  need  of  rations.  We  readied 
Florence  aboul    Pour  in   the  afternoon  of  September  14th,  but 


Personal  Reminiscences  of  I  >.  G.  James  75 

wen    kepi    in   the  card  .ill   eight.     The   following  morning   we 
moved  aboul  hv    miles  oul  of  town  where  we  \\ ••!•<*  unloaded  and 
stationed  in  .    field,     Here  we  were  permitted  to  gather  some 
rails  and  build  a  fire,  yel  we  had  do  thing  to  cook  or  eat.      There 
were  cornfields  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  and  the  men  were 
vainly  crying  to  gather  Bonie.      Phe  uexl  day,  September  16,  \\  e 
still   fasted,   but    by   that    time   many    had    Lost    all   desire   for 
food.    Five  men  uear  me  Lying  beneath  one  blanket  died  thai  aft- 
ernoon From  starvation.     Aboul  one  hundred  in  all,  ou1  of  eight 
hum  I  red,  died  of  starvation  there  in  a  single  day.  The  day  b  sfore 
some  of  the  stronger  ones  had  made  ;i  stampede  for  the  corn- 
field.   The  rebels  beat  Ihe  long  roll  and  the  whole  garrison  Boon 
turned  oul  and  with  hounds  and  guns  succeeded  in  capturing 
mosl  <»t  them.    One  poor  drummer  boy  who  was  shol   replied  to 
I       uel   Lverson's  question  as  to  why  he  tried  to  escape,  "Oh 
m  so  hungry/'  and  then  fell  back  dead.     One  man 
from  an  Illinois  regiment  eluded  the  hounds  for  two  days  be- 
fore they  caught  his  trail.     At  daybr  ak  the  third  morning  he 
heard  the  baying  of  hounds  and  used  a  club  to  keep  them  off 
until  'h.  owners  came  up.    Th<   guards  then  took  the  club  away 
from  him  and  permitted  the  dogs  to  bite  him  to  enc  urage  them 
for  future  work.     He  was  returned  to  us,  and  his  torn  clothing 
and  lacerated  limbs  corroborated  his  story.     Another  prisoner 
was  concealed  by  slaves  in  a  hollow   log  two  days.     They  then 
■  him  some  sweet    potatoes  and  baked  possum  and  star!  <l 
him,  as  he  said,  for  "God's  counl  ry  "  :  but  the  hounds  caughl  his 
trail  and  his  fate  was  similar  to  thai  of  the  Illinois  prisoner. 

About  ten  o'clock  on  the  eight  of  the  L6th,  some  citizens 
brought  us  some  corn  meal.  We  wore  allowed  aboul  three  table- 
spoonfulls  each.  The  next  day  we  were  given  a  sorghum  stalk 
aboul  i     This  was  all  we  had  in  Four  days.    The  days 

following  we  were  given  Bquash  one  day  and  beans  the  uexl  for 
aboul  two  weeks.  We  were  faring  better  for  rations,  bu1  lacked 
water,  the  camp  being  quite  a  distance  from  the  creek. 

Colonel  Iverson,  who  was  pul  in  command  of  us,  was  unlike 
Captain  Wit/.  [Je  was  kind  in  his  promises  for  our  comfort, 
but  failed  to  carry  them  out.  In  the  meantime,  slaves  were 
building  another  Btockade,  aboul  a  halt  a  mile  away,  and  in  plain 
at.  Colon.-]  [verson  pul  us  in  charge  of  Colonel  0*Neil  oi 
the  1<>th  Tennessee  Infantry.     It  was  his  mission  to  organize    a 


T 


7<>        Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

battalion  from  the  prisoners  and  they  were  dubbed  "galvanized 
iTanks."  For  some  days  he  mingled  with  us  and  expressed  sor- 
row ;M  our  condition.  Be  claimed  that  the  confederacy  had  tried 
to  exchange  us  and  had  offered  two  of  us  Tor  one  of  their  men, 
luit  had  mel  with  the  reply  from  our  officers  thai  we  were  only 
bounty -jumpers  and  coffee-coolers  for  whom  they  bad  no  use. 
He,  bowever,  expres£ed  confidence  in  us,  and  offered  us  good 
clothes  and  food  ^ud  pay  to  relieve  their  men  in  the  garrison. 
A1  the  close  of  the  war  he  promised  us  each  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  for  a  home  lead.  He  then  came  back  in  a 
few  davs  with  the  rolls,  ready  to  organize  his  battalion,  bu1  >o 
his  chagrin  and  anger  not  a  man  juil  down  his  name.  He  cursi  d 
and  threatened,  and  Colonel  [verson  came,  to  his  relief,  trying 
direet  starvation  on  us.  At,  last  he  succeeded  in  securing  live 
hundred  recruits  from  men  who  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  southern  confederacy,  rather  than  starve.  The  poor  starved 
wretch  who  shared  my  dugout  replied  to  Colonel  O'Neil's  offer 
of  relief  by  enlisting,  "I  believe  I  will  starve  a  little  while  long!  r 
before  I  take  that  step."  At  that  Colonel  O'Neil  .wiled.  ''By 
G — d,  I  will  starve  you  until  you  will  come  to  it."  He  did.  luii 
poor  James  Shanley  of  Company  C,  2nd  Wisconsin  Cavalry,  iiist 
went  insane  and  then  died,  January  27,  1865 j  lie  starved  t<»  death 
because  of  his  loyally  to  his  eountry. 

The  stockade  completed,  tho  e  of  us  who  were  not  "galvan- 
ized"' were  ordered  inside,  the  sick  alone  remaining  in  t lie  tents. 
The  prisoners  who  raised  their  hands  swearing  allegiance  to  the 
southern  confederacy  in  preference  to  starvation  have  been  cen- 
sured, yet  to  this  late  day  I  have  charity  for  t  hem.  well  knowing 
thai  when  they  made  oath  before  Almighty  God  they  inserted 
this  mental  reservation  until  they  had  an  opportunity  to  es- 
cape lo  our  lines.  Some  did,  and  rendered  good  service  to  the 
government  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

This  stockade  was  of  Logs  about  eighteen  feet  high  inclosing 
aboul  seven  and  one-half  acres.  There  was  the  usual  dead  line, 
and  a.  cannon  over  a  platform  in  each  corner  of  the  stockade. 
A  shallow.  Eluggish  stream  three  feel  wide  ran  through  it.  The 
ground  was  covered  with  brush  and  slumps  where  the  trees  had 
been  cu1  Tor  the  stockade.  We  were  no1  slow  in  making  use  of 
this  refuse  I'm-  shelter.  A  few  axes  had  been  secured  and  smug- 
gled  in.  and   these   wen    used   nights.     Those   who   had   secured 


Person ai    Reminiscences  op  D.  G.  James  7  < 

confederate  eurrenc}    paid  a  dollar  an  hour  for  the  use  of  an 
After  we  had  been  inside  Hie  stockade  ;i  few  days,  Colonel 
's  lieutenant  was  put  in  command.     As  ,-i  fiend  incarnate, 
he  was  second  t  i  no  one,  not  eve  i  Wirz      ll<'  was  always  armed, 
ng  several  prisoners  assembled  would  cry  out  1<>  dis- 
perse that  crowd,  and  ai  the  same  time  would  begin  firing.     He 
1  li-lini  a  whipping  post   inside  the  stockade,  and  detailed 
two  prisoners  to  wield  the  cat-o'-nine  tails,  giving  them  extra 
rations  ■>.'  solid  food  for  his  brutal  work.     One  of  these  tools 
-  named  Stanton,  belonging  to  the  12th  New   York  Cavalry. 
The  other  belonged  to  a  Massachusetts  Eleavy  Artillery  regiment, 
;i  dark,  thick-lipped,  coarse  fellow,  whom  the  prisoners  called 
srer  Pete."     Their  records  were  not  known,  vol  il  was  sup- 
posed that   they  were  bounty  jumpers  from  the  slums  of  New 
Y     k  and  Boston. 

Cold  weather  so  □  began  to  tell  on  the  prisoners.  Pour  of  us 
buill  a  structure  •"»'  feet.     We  dug  back  into  the  bank, 

then  set  up  two  -trips  endwise,  and  fixed  a  pole  across  these  to 
supporl  the  roof.  AI  the  end  we  made  a  fire  place  and  a  chim- 
ney, which  we  used  for  cooking.  The  brick  for  our  fireplace  we 
fashioned  with  our  hands  out  of  clay  and  water,  t'en  baked 
them  in  the  ^uu.  We  gathered  pine  needles  for  our  bed.  Wo 
had  a  blanket  and  a  half  for  the  four  of  us.  These  quarters 
well  until  the  winter  rains  commence  I.  Tien  the 
clay  began  to  soak  and  melt,  and  the  water  seeped  through  the 
roof. 

One  evening  in  the  early  winter,  five  nice-looking  young  men 
came  in  with  a  new  detachment.  They  had  almost  no  clothing 
and  only  a  little  wood  which  they  earned  in  their  hand-.  NTol 
finding  any  shelter,  they  built  a  little  fire  and  lay  down.  The 
morning  found  them  frozen  stiff.  It  was  known  that  they  were 
all   from  .■    eolleg  chusetts.     Every  morning  following 

a  cold  night,  the  creek  would  be  full  of  men  thawing  out  their 
Quit*  often  the  creek  would  be  covered  with  ice.  Most  of 
the  prisoners  were  destitute  of  shoes  and  Bocks,  and  their  feet, 
from  repeated  freezing,  would  become  son-:  and  they  were  often 
obliged  to  crawl  to  the  creek,  where  many  a  poor  fellow  died 
from  the  exertion. 

One  day  the  colonel  appeared  on  the  bank  and  requested  n 
middle-aged  prisoner  to  turn  a  hand-spring.    The  prisoner  re- 


78       Report  of  A.ndersonvillb  Monument  Commission 

plied  that  the  living  he  received  <li<l  not  warrant  such  vigorous 
exercise,  and  walked  off.  The  angry  colonel  tried  to  find  the 
man  but  the  prisoners  would  noi  reveal  his  identity,  whereupon 
the  colonel  resolved  to  starve  as  until  we  did.  No  rations  were 
received  until  the  second  day  after,  when  t lie  man,  rather  than 
have  us  longer  denied  food,  confessed.  The  colonel  ordered  him 
tied  to  the  whipping  posl  and  given  fifty  lashes  on  his  bare  back 
with  the  cat-o'-nine  tails,  which  brought  blood  at  every  stroke. 
The  poor  fellow  cringed,  yet  did  not  utter  a  cry.  The  swamp 
along  the  creek  became  impassable,  and  a  squad  was  detailed  io 
carry  dirt  from  the  bank  to  make  a  turnpike,  and  they,  in  return, 
received  extra  rations.  There  was  a  penalty  provided  for 
those  who  tried  to  Hank'  for  rations,  and  nearly  every  morning 
some  one  Avas  whipped  for  infraction  of  tins  rule. 

Every  man  bad  bis  own  method  of  trying  to  obtain  extra 
rations.  I  escaped  for  a  few  days  and,  before  being  re-captured, 
succeeded  in  building  up  a  little  physically;  but  after  T  Avas 
re-captured  the  outlook  was  poor,  so  I  conceived  the  idea  of  fall- 
in  g  in  with  some  new  arrivals  and  registering  as  a  Mr.  Pease  of 
an  Indiana  regiment.  We  were  organized  into  messes  of  a  hun- 
dred men  each,  under  charge  of  our  own  sergeants,  for  receiving 
rations.  There  were  ten  messes  in  a  detachment,  and  every 
detachment  was  under  a  rebel  sergeant.  Every  morning  he  mus- 
tered bis  men,  and  those  who  were  able  fell  in  line  and  answered 
at  roll-call.  I  belonged  to  the  second  hundred  of  the  eighth 
thousand.  As  a  flanker,  T  was  Mr.  Pease  of  the  ninth  hundred 
of  the  tenth  thousand.  When  the  drum  best  for  morning  roll- 
call  T  fell  in  with  the  second  hundred,  which  broke  ranks  in 
time  Por  me  to  go  to  the  other  detachment  before  they  fell  in. 
Then  at  nighl  my  partner  would  attend  to  drawing  my  ration, 
and  I  would  attend  to  the  other.  Putting  the  three  rations  to- 
gether we  would  cook  them.  At  first  T  disposed  of  one  ration 
to  hire  an  old  axe  with  which  to  split  up  a  stump  that  was  on 
the  claim  we  squatted  on  to  build  our  quarters.  The  latter  part 
of  October  there  were  twelve  detachments  organized,  upon  the 
supposition  that   there  were  twelve  thousand  men. 

The  rebels  began  to  think  there  was  what  you  would  now  call 
some  watering  of  the  stock,  when  it  came  to  roll-call,  and  they 
started  an  investigation.  Christmas  Eve  they  gave  out  word 
thai    they   were  going  to  give  us  some  meat  and  sweet  potatoes 


Personal  Reminiscent  es  op  I >.  G.  James  7fl 

for  our  Christmas  feast.  I  mistrusted  Borne  trickery,  s<>  I  ivenl 
to  the  sergeant  of  the  tenth  detachment  and  told  him  I  had  an 
opportunity  to  Lr<>  out  on  parole  to  work  for  the  rebel  officers,  For 
which  1  would  receive  an  extra  ration.  The  oext  evening  when 
it  came  time  for  roll  call,  a  Bquad  of  guards  came  in  and  drove 
th«'  prisoners  .-ill  to  one  aide  of  the  creek,  stationed  the  guards 
bo  that  Done  could  go  back  except  by  falling  in  with  their  mess 
and  marching  along  the  causeway  over  the  bridge,  where  both 
the  sergeants  were  placed  to  counl  them  as  they  cros  ed.  So  1 
counted  all  right  at  one  place  and  was  reported  on  parole  a1  tVe 
other.  When  the  gentlemen  had  computed  their  figur< ■>.  they 
had  six  thousand  five  hundred  men  to  whom  they  were  issuing 
twelve  thousand  rations.  Then  the  lash  was  used  very  freely 
d>r  a  number  of  days.  They  were  very  much  surprised,  and,  to 
mad,  expressed  it  mildly.  The  resull  was  thai  instead  of  the 
si   of  meat    and   sweet   potatoes  we   received  nothing,   they 

claiming  that  they  did  no1   have  time.     Now  Years  ci with 

another  count.  T  had  kept  up  my  parole  scheme  so  that  it 
worked  all  right.  Some  of  the  boys  who  were  working  the  game 
lost  their  nerve  and  went  to  the  officer  and  confessed,  yet  they 
got  the  penalty  just  the  same.     So  T  stuck  to  it. 

Later,  when  the  general  roll-call  or  muster  came  around,  it 
found  me  Bick  and  unable  to  gel  oul  of  my  dugout,  and  i1 
happened  that  the  sergeants  of  both  detachments  came  a1  the 
same  time  to  find  those  that  were  not  able  to  gel  out.  I  ionic 
the  crazy  dodge  on  it.  and  answered  do  questions,  as  they  both 
claimed  me  as  their  man.  They  called  the  man,  W.  Cook,  who 
shared  my  domain  with  me,  and  he  informed  them  thai  1  was 
OUl  of  my  head  and  had  been  for  several  days.  and.  was  unable 
to  answer  any  questions.  He  told  them  who  T  was.  The  sergeant 
who  had  loel  his  man  became  very  angry,  threatening  my  life. 
He  reached  down  into  my  cave,  took  me  by  the  leg,  dragged  mc 
out  and  gave  me  several  kicks,  sending  me  down  the  bank  into 
the  creek.  He  declared  that  he  would  give  me  fifty  lashes.  Cook 
told  him  it  would  be  unnecessary,  as  he  had  already  hilled  me. 
They  left  me  to  lie  on  the  ground  where  the  sergeant  had  left 
me  until  the  roll-call  was  over.  The  boys  that  T  knew  gathered 
around  and  put  me  back  into  my  dugout.  I  remembered  hearing 

one  man   say.   •'That    is    the    hist    of   poor   have."      T   was   UHCOn- 

scious   \'<>v  several   days  and.  before   I    had   Grained   sufficicent 


80        Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 

strength  to  gel  out,  Sherman's  army  had  started  from  Savannah 
on  the  greal  campaign  through  the  Carolinas.  Every  available 
man  the  rebels  could  spare  was  rushed  to  the  fronl  to  stop  him. 
Our  guards  were  replaced  with  some  conscripted  boys  and  old 
men,  and  I  imagined  thai  the  sergeanl  thai  had  the  account 
againsl  me,  in  his  haste  to  stop  Sherman,  had  neglected  to  hand 
ii  over  to  his  sucessor.  Nb1  being  anxious  the  setl  le  the  account, 
I  did  not  refer  to  it,  so  ii  stands  there  yet  to  my  credit. 

The  prisoners  go1  into  the  habil  of  trading  with  the  slaves 
working  on  the  stockade,  thus  getting  some  sweet  potatoes  and 
other  vegetables,  which  they  usually  ate  raw  for  the  scurvy.  It 
seemed  1o  help  it  immensely.  A  stop  was  soon  put  to  this,  and 
prisoners  were  not  permitted  to  speak  to  negroes.  Then  the 
our  boys  gol  to  bartering  with  the  guards,  Which  trade  pros- 
pered very  well  for  a  short  period.  We  swapped  anything  they 
had  for  something  to  eat.  I  had  a  gold  pen  and  a  silver  holder, 
given  me  by  my  father  so  that  I  would  ho  able  to  write  home 
after  entering  the  service.  Although  T  valued  it  very  highly,  I 
gave  it  to  a  rehel  for  a  quart  of  sweet  potatoes  and  then  ate  them 
raw.  The  guards  got  so  they  would  take  whal  we  had  for  barter 
to  inspect,  then  fail  to  return  either  it  or  the  desire*!  ration. 
One  of  my  friends  made  a  ring  from  a  hone  and  let  one  of  the 
guards  take  it  for  inspection,  for  which  he  was  to  bring  a  quart 
of  peas  when  lie  came  on  post  at  the  next  relief.  My  friend 
kept  watch  for  him  when  he  came  hack  on  heat  and  asked  for 
his  peas.  Instantly  the  guard  raised  his  gun  to  his  shoulders, 
took-  quick  aim  and  tired.  The  prisoner  dodged,  and  the  ball 
passed  over  him  and  lodged  in  the  dirt  roof  of  a  nearby  dugout. 
Thai  was  the  end  of  that  deal.  Another  instance  came  under 
my  observation.  A  prisoner  belonging  to  a  AVest  Virginia  regi- 
ment camped  next  to  me.  Noticing  a  guard  on  the  top  of  Ihe 
stockade  taking  a  chew  from  a  large  plug  of  tobacco,  he  asked 
him  if  he  would  plea  e  ejvo  him  a  kite.  The  guard  raised  his 
musket  to  his  shoulder  and  fired.  The  hall  entered  the  victim, 
passed  into  his  left  breasl  and  down  out  of  his  right  side.  Tie 
lived  about  three  hours,  suffering  intense  pain  until  dealh  re- 
lieved him. 

Late  in  Hie  fall  the  rebels  detailed  men  from  among  the 
prisoners  to  go  into  the  timber  and  cut  poles  for  a  frame  and 
split   shakes  to  roof  a  hospital:  and  they   also  detailed  some  of 


rsonal  Reminiscences  op  I  >.  < >.  James  81 

the  stronger  ours  as  nurses.  This  hospital  was  constructed  by 
Betting  forked  posts  in  the  ground  about  ten  feel  apart.  Poles 
were  placed  in  these  forks  for  ridge  poles  and  plates.  The 
rafters  were  then  pul  up  of  poles  hewed  off  on  one  side.  The 
dial.es  were  pul  on  the  roof  and  weighted  down  with  poles  and 
es.  The  sides  were  pul  up  by  weaving  the  shakes  into 
sections  with  vines  procured  in  the  swamp.  So.  when  this 
hospital  was  ready  for  its  inmates,  it  had  been  built  without 
a  nail.  The  fire  places  for  warming  and  ventilation  were 
erected  without  a  brick.  The  hospital  patients  received  a 
change  of  diet,  together  with  shelter  and  the  warmth  of  sev- 
eral co/y  fire  [daces.  Many  of  the  inmates  improved,  and  it 
was  the  means  of  enabling  a  number  of  the  poor  hoys  to  reach 
home  and  the  dear  ones.  who.  without  it.  would  never  have 
reached  "God's  <  lount  ry. ' ' 

Tliis  was  about  the  time  for  the  presidential  •■lection  in  the 
north.  Colonel  [verson  thought  he  might  get  some  idea  of  what 
the  verdict  would  be  by  taking  a  vote  amongst  the  prisoners.  So 
they  compaigned  it  a  few  days.  They  told  us  how  cruel  our  gov- 
ernment was  to  ii>  \'i>v  not  exchanging,  knowing  very  well  how 
we  were  suffering,  and  that  Abe  Lincoln  was  responsible  for 
all  we  were  compelled  to  endure.  They  prepared  the  ballots 
l>y  bringing  in  a  box  with  two  kinds  of  peas,  black  and  while. 
The  black  peas  were  for  old  Abe  and  the  white  ones  for  Little 
Mac.  as  they  designated  them.  They  then  stationed  a  guard 
around  the  polls  to  enforce  honesty  and  prevent  repeating. 
The  polls  opened  at  nine  in  the  morning  and  the  voting  com- 
menced very  briskly,  and.  as  nearly  as  some  could  tell  by  inquir- 
ing of  every  voter  coming  from  the  polls  ns  to  how  he  had  cast 
his  ballot,  they  estimated  that  Lincoln  was  receiving  five-sixths 
of  the  votes.  This  w;is  very  disagreeable  to  the  rebels  who 
were  watching  from  the  stockade  near  the  boxes.  They  could 
look  down  into  the  l>ox  from  the  top  of  the  stockade.  We  had 
no  means  of  knowing  what  the  issues  were,  as  we  had  not  re 
ceived  a  paper  for  six  months,  except  little  dodgers  thrown 
inside  to  deceive  us.  These  little  papers  announced  an  exchange 
that  w;is  going  on  for  mil'  benefit,  yet  we  concluded  it  was  safe 
to  vote  for  the  man  they  did  not  like  and,  as  General  Br 

•  i  it,  '   We  loved  him  for  the  enemies  he  had  made."     So 
all  the  information  we  could  glean  on  tie-  issms  v 


82        Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

rebels  had  seen  lit  to  imparl  to  us.  We  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  we  were  not  voting  in  sympathy  with  their  desires.  A 
sergeanl  was  asked  by  Colonel  Iverson  whom  he  was  voting  for 
and  whal  he  knew  about  the  issues.  The  sergeant  replied  that 
all  lie  knew  was  that  four  years  ago  he  shouted  for  Abe  Lin- 
coln and  they  were  shouting  for  Jeff  Davis,  and  that  now 
it  was  safe,  because  the  rebels  hated  Lincoln  so  intensely,  to 
vote  for  him.  The  rebels  became  so  disgusted  with  the  outlook 
thai  about  ten  in  the  forenoon  they  took  out  the  peas  and  failed 
to  announce  the  result.  Thus  ended  our  presidential  campaign, 
so  far  as  we  were  concerned. 

In  December  there  was  an  exchange  of  prisoners  arranged, 
so  they  claimed.  This  exchange  included  only  the  sick  and 
wounded.  They  took  a  few  of  the  sick  who  would  never  be 
of  any  use  to  the  government,  and  made  up  the  balance  out 
of  those  who  were  known  as  the  raider  cut-throats  and  bounty 
jumpers;  as  it  was  an  easy  task  to  identify  them.  One  good 
thing  for  us  was  the  fact  that  they  took  the  demons  Stanton 
and  Pete,  who  had  been  doing  the  whipping.  "When  the  new 
set  of  guards  came  on,  it  was  made  up  principally  of  young 
fellows  of  South  Carolina  who  were  not  old  enough  to  go  to  the 
front.  Judging  from  their  talk  they  were  very  desirous  of 
killing  a  Yankee.  I  think  the  most  of  them  had  their  desires 
gratified,  as  the  records  show.  It  was  but  a  short  time  after 
guard  mount  before  we  could  hear  the  crack  of  the  rifle  most 
any  time  of  day  or  night.  I  heard  one  of  them  make  the  re- 
mark, one  morning  when  he  went  on  guard,  that  he  would  kill 

a  d d  Yankee  before  he  came  off  duty.     He  would  let  the 

Yanks  knowr  that  he  did  not  come  there  for  nothing.  About 
daybreak  the  next  morning,  a  poor  fellow  came  along  going 
to  the  creek  for  water.  He  little  suspected  there  was  a  cow- 
ardly villain  waiting  to  murder  him.  Before  he  could  reach 
the  creek,  as  lie  was  passing  this  guard's  beat,  fully  ten  feel 
from  the  dead  line,  without  a  word  of  warning  the  guard 
raised  his  musket  to  his  shoulder  and  fired,  killing  the  man 
instantly.  He  then  remarked  that  he  had  said  he  would  kill 
one,  and  he  had  done  it.  He  was  soon  relieved,  and,  for  his 
reward,  received  his  thirty-day  furlough.  Late  in  the  fall  ar- 
rangements were  made  by  which  the  United  States  Sanitary 
Commission   was  to   be   allowed  to  send  some  clothing   ami 


Person  u    Ri  iiiniscences  op  D.  G.  Jami  83 

blankets  to  the  prisoners,  and  also  thai  the  people  of  the  north 
might  Bend  through  the  lines  to  their  friends  and  loved  ones 
boxes  of  food  and  delicacies,  which  would  be  delivered  to  them. 
My  mother  and  se\  era]  of  the  good  old  Ladies  of  our  town  made 
up  a  box  and  Bent  it  to  me.  In  the  1><>\  they  pul  Borne  butter, 
each  roll  having  a  silver  dollar  in  it.  It  is  needless  to  Bay  thai 
1  never  received  the  box  ;  and  1  never  knew  of  l»ut  one  l>ox  hav- 
ing been  received  by  the  prisoners  at  Florence.  Bui  very  few 
suits  of  clothes  were  ever  given  to  the  prisoners.  I  dare  Bay 
thai  there  were  nol  to  exceed  fifty  blankets  given  them,  tin* 
bulk  of  them  being  kepi  to  be  put  on  the  backs  of  their  own 
men.  The  rebel  sergeants  used  to  come  into  the  stockade  on 
cold,  frosty  mornings,  dressed  warmly  in  the  clothes  sent  there 
for  the  prisoners.  We  knew  this,  for  the  blankets  had  on  them 
the  letters  U.  S.  S.  C.    United  States  Sanitary  Commission  . 

There  was  a  detail  taken  ou1  OH  parole  to  cut  wood  in  the 
swamp,  half  a  mile  away,  and  carry  it  up  to  the  gate  to  supply 
the  prison  and  rebel  officers'  quarters;  and  to  wait   on  the  offi- 

a  generally,  in  order  to  gel  the  additional  meagre  supply  of 
meat  OT  some  other  solid  food  that  would  give  them  strength 
to  perform  tin-  arduous  work.  Aboul  live  in  the  afternoon,  the 
guards  would  he  placed  around  the  woodpile  at  the  entrance  to 
the  gate,  which  would  be  Opened,  and  a  detail  from  each  mess 
was  lei  oul  t<>  bring  it  in.  Some  days  the  prisoners  would  take 
advantage  of  the  parole  and  gel  oul  of  reach  of  the  prison  limit 
and  hid.-.  As  ^".n  as  it  became  dark,  they  would  make  an  effort 
t<>  escape  the  vigilance  of  the  scouts  and  the  scenl  of  the  hounds, 
and  some  did.  Others  were  captured  and  returned  to  receive 
their  punishment  flf  lash. -v.  etc.  It  was  a  habil  of  two  Lieutenants, 
Mosby  and  Barrett,  when  they  wanted  recreation,  to  post  them- 
selves «»n  the  cap  over  the  gate  and.  armed  with  heavy  walking 
sticks,  as  the  prisoners  passed  through,  hit  them  over  the  head 

lee  who  could  knock  down  the  Larger  number.  The  prisoners 
would  run  the  gauntlets,  Btooping  or  dodging,  of  course,  to  avoid 
the  blows.  When  one  of  them  was  knocked  down,  there  was 
loud  merriment  among  the  guards  and  officers  Looking  on.  One 
evening  Lieutenant  Mosby  was  playing  a  Lone  hand  a1  the  posl 

Over  the   gate,  and  just    ahead   of  me  was  a   fine   Looking   fellow 

that  he  had  singled  out  tor  a  blow.    The  man  dodged  ;  the  club 

slipped  from  the  lieutenant's  hand   and  went   flying  out   among 


•s !         Report  of  Anderronville  Monument  Commission 

the  prisoners.  The  fellow  al  whom  he  struck,  picked  it  up  to 
carry  in  for  fuel  to  cook  his  allowance.  Mosby  jumped  down, 
ran  into  the  crowd  cursing  and  calling  the  prisoners  all  the  vile 
uames  he  could  think  of.     Enquiring  for  the  man  thai  had  his 

cane,  no  one  responded,  knowing  full  well  to  w dial  il  would  lead. 
They  gathered  around  in  the  endeavor  to  secrete  him,  yet  to  no 
avail.  Mosby  located  him,  gathered  up  his  gad  and  pounded  the 
poor   fellow  over  the  head   and  shoulders  until   he  became  ex- 
hausted. During  this  time.  Colonel  [verson,  who  was  standing 
by,  eaughl  up  a  stick  of  wood  and  ran  towards  us  crying,  *'  Kill 
the  (1 — (I  Yankee."  The  prisoners  gathered  around  the  poor  vic- 
tim,  who  was   bleeding   profusely,  so   the   colonel  should    not 
reach  him,  fearing  he  would  kill  him,  anyway.  When  t  he  colonel 
found  that  he  was  balked,  in  his  page  he  ordered  the  guard  to  fire 
into  the  crowd,  but  they  failed  to  obey  the  order.    A  man  by  the 
name  of  Melvin  Grigsby,*  a  member  of  ( Jompany  ( 5,  Second  Wis- 
consin  Cavalry,  was  out   on  detail   for  some  time,  working  for 
the   officers'   mess.     lie    fared    quite    well,    getting   some   warm 
(dot lies  and  provisions,     lie  made  his  plans  to  escape,  revealing 
the  scheme  to  a  comrade  named  Carr,  and  then  by  forging  a  p 
and  bribing  a  sergeahl  of  the  guards,  he  got  away.     Every  morn 
ing,  when  the  roll  was  called.  Carr  would  answer  to  Grigsby's 
name.      lie  did  this   for  several   days,   until   they  had  a   general 
roll-call  and  count.     This  gave  Grigsby  a  good  start  before  his 
absence  was  discovered.     A  search  was  made,  hut  no  Grigsby 
v  as  found.     The  matter  was  reported  to  the  colonel,  who  sent  a 
guard  inside  the  stockade  to  bring  out  Carr,  who  was  escorted 
to  headquarters  and  asked  where  Grigsby  was.     TTe  replied  that 
he  did  not    know.     The  colonel   called  him  a   d — d  liar. 

When  Carr  was  asked  how  Grigsby  escaped,  he  did  not  choose 
to  tell.  The  colonel  then  commenced  to  cuff  him  severely  on 
the  head,  saying  thai  he  would  compel  him  to  tell.  Carr  told 
him  to  cuff  away — that  ^\i'vy  dog  had  his  day.  AVherenpon  the 
<•  .!(  iiel  commenced  kicking  as  well  as  striking  him.  saying  that 
he  would  compel  him  to  tell  by  putting  him  in  the  dungeon; 
if  he  did  not  tell  then  he  would  torture  him  for  three  hours  in 
the  stretchers;  and  thai  as  ;i  last  resort  he  would  kill  him.     Carr 


:::  Melvin  Grigsby  is  now  n  prominent  citizen  of  Sioux  Falls,  South 
Dakota.  He  has  occupied  high  positions  in  his  state,  and  is  author  of 
a  hook  entitled  "The  Smoked  Yank."'  which  uives  a  thrilling  history  of 

nis  <  ipture  and  >• '  'fire. 


; 'i  rsi '\  \t    U'i  minis*  ences  op  D.  G.  Jami 


was  thrown    into   the  dungeon,   and,  after   he   had   suffered   as 
long  as   he   thoughl    he  could    possibly   stand    it,   he  called   the 
guard  and  told  him  to  send  for  the  colonel,  who  came  and  Lei 
him  down,  asking  him  if  he  was  ready  to  tell  hov   Grigsbj 
caped.     Carr  still   replied   in   the  negative,  and   requested  thai 
if  the  colonel  had  any  humanity  Left  to  kill  him,  as  he  could  qoI 
stand  thai    another   hour.     He  was  too  weak   to  stand.     The 
colonel  then  wenl  away  leaving  him  there  for  two  days  and  two 
[lights  withoul  food.  Then  he  was  broughl  back  inside  the  stock 
ade  in  a  delirious  state  and  turned  over  to  his  friends.     He  re 
mained  in  thai  condition  for  some  days,  having  a  run  of  fever. 
After  several  weeks  of  suffering,  withoul  any  medical  treatment, 
<»r  any  food  excepl  the  prison  fare,  he  began  to  recover,  and  he 
lived  to  be  paroled  to  reach  home  and  friends. 

!    musl    descrioe~"the   dungeon   anTT  stretciiers,   the   place  and 
means   for  persecution,  and  wnere  Carr  passed   two  days      It 
was  situated  in  one  corner  of  the  stockade  under  the  gun  plat- 
forms, buiH  of  Ions  and  entirely  (dosed  in  with  a  dirt  embank- 
ment around  Lhe  sides  and  top,  except  the  opening  for  the  dooi', 
which   was  a  double  one:  and   it    did   not    admit    a   ray  of  light. 
There    was    no    ventilation    whatever.     The   guard    <>n    top    was 
ever  on   the  alerl    to  see  thai   the   prisoners  did    not    make   their 
pe.  The  water  seeped  in  through  the  top  until  it  was  in  some 
places  several   inches   deep.     All   the   ground   was  completely 
covered  with  ii.     The  stretchers  were  then  fixed  on  the  timbers 
supporting   them    by   hanging   two   cords    from    them   and    then 
fastening  them  to  the  prisoner's  thumbs,  drawing  him  up  with 
his   arms   behind    him    until    his   toes    would    barely    reach    lhe 
ground.     Then,   after   leaving   him   there   with    the   doors  closed 
from  one  to  two  hours,  until  life  was  nearly  extinct,  lie  would 
he  let  down  to  survive  a  shorl   ;  1 1 <  1  miserable  existence. 

Here  is  an  instance  of  loyalty:  A  drummer  boy  there, 
scarcely  twelve  years  old.  who  had  lost  several  of  his  toes  by 
ji-'  m\  wa»  hobbling  around  with  lhe  aid  of  a  stick.  He  was 
barefooted  and  bareheaded.  When  a  rebel  came  in  to  I  eat  lhe 
drum  for  roll  call,  our  boy  stood  near  lhe  gate  i<>  gel  a  look  out- 
Bide  ;is  the  <j;ite  opened.  The  rebel  had  no  music  or  time  to  him. 
x"  the  i.m\  asked  him  to  let  him  leat  the  assembly,  which  he  did 
iii  tine  style,  considering  his  swollen  hands  ami  stiff  fingers.  The 
colonel  was  observing  it  all   from  the  outside  and  came  in  mid 


A 


80        Report  of  Andeesonvillb  Moni  bient  Commission 

asked  the  boy  it*  he  would  like  to  come  out  and  get  into  good, 
comfortable  quarters,  where  be  could  gel  clothes  and  plenty  to 
eat.  He  asked  the  colonel  what  lie  wanted  him  to  do,  and  re- 
ceived llif  reply  that  he  was  wanted  to  drill  a  corps  of  drummer 
hoys  for  him.  The  Little  patriot  hesitated  a  minute,  looked  at 
his  swollen,  diseased  feet  and  his  dilapitated  condition  generally, 
then  thoughtfully  said,  ''No,  1  think  too  much  of  my  country 
to  drum  for  rebels."  The  colonel  passed  out  somewhat  cha- 
grined ;it  the  rebuff  received  from  the  heroic  little  drummer 
boy.  Had  all  the  prisoners  been  as  loyal  to  the  flag  as  this 
drummer  boy,  the  rebel  officers  would  not  have  had  so  com- 
fortable quarters,  and  there  would  not  have  been  so  fine  a  flag 
staff  bearing  the  rebel  banner  to  the  breeze. 

About  the  first  of  February,  new  prisoners  began  to  arrive  in 
small  numbers.  They  were  some  of  Sherman's  bummers  who 
had  been  picked  up  in  small  squads,  having  ventured  too  far 
out  to  get  a  few  more  chickens  or  smoked  hams.  They  gave  the 
prisoners  some  hope  of  being  rescued.  The  guards  had  been  re- 
duced to  a  minimum.  The  rebels  paroled  some  of  the  prisoners, 
taking  a  very  light  guard  to  escort  them  to  our  lines  to  con- 
vince them  that  they  were  going  to  be  exchanged  under  a  flag 
of  truce j  but  they  soon  changed  their  course,  giving  as  their 
reason  that  our  men  had  fired  on  the  flag  of  truce  and  refused  to 
receive  the  prisoners.  Some  were  brought  back,  yet  quite  a 
number  escaped.  We  afterwards  learned  that  they  had  started 
them  for  Richmond,  hut  one  of  our  cavalry  raids  had  cut  off 
their  communication.     So  they  had  to  return. 

February  15th,  there  Avas  bustle  around  the  prison,  both  out- 
si  de  and  in.  We  knew  General  Sherman's  army  was  coming 
our  way.  The  rebels  said  an  exchange  was  going  on  at  Wilming- 
ton, North  Carolina.  The  large  majority  of  our  men  were 
anxious  to  go,  yet  a  few  thought  it  safer  to  remain  and  he  re- 
lieved by  Sherman;  but  the  rebels  would  not  have  it  that  way, 
telling  us  that  Sherman  had  been  whipped  at  Savannah,  then 
at  Pocotaligo  and  again  at  Columbia.  What  pleased  us  pris- 
oners was  the  fact  that  every  time  Sherman  was  defeated,  he 
got  nearer  to  us.  The  rebels  commenced  on  the  loth  to  move  us 
away,  and  on  the  17th  they  took  out  the  last  squad  that  was  able 
to  be  moved.  They  did  this  al  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  as  some 
of  our  men  insisted  on  staying.     The  last  took  their  departure 


Person  u.  Ki  minis*  1  \«  es  of  b.  Q.  James 

about  dark.  Tito  transportation  was  the  same  as  usual,  in 
crowded  box  cars  with  no  rations.  Wo  arrived  at  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina,  aboul  three  in  the  afternoon  of  the  L7th  and 
were  then  ferried  across  the  river,  Nothing  of  importance  I  rans 
pired,  only  that  the  usual  number  escaped.  One  man  was  killed, 
and  another  shot  in  the  head;  hut.  not  being  dead,  he  was 
Loaded  on  the  tram  and  broughl  along.  The  poor  fellow's  bead 
was  bo  Bwollen  that  one  would  hardly  know  ho  was  a  human  be- 
ing. Be  Buffered  intense  pain,  as  we  knew  by  his  continual 
groaning.  The  people  all  along  the  line  assured  us  that  the  ex- 
change was  going  on  at  Wilmington,  hut  we  were,  ;i^  usual,  skep- 
tical. Upon  arrival  there,  to  OUT  surprise  we  could  see  an  ex- 
change  going  on  down  the  river  at  Fori  Anderson,  hut  it  was  an 
exchange  of  shol  and  shell  between  the  fleet  and  the  fort.  The 
Bighl  of  the  Yankee  shells  bursting  over  the  fort  miles  away 
was  beautiful  to  behold,  and  the  music  was  joyful  to  our  ears. 
We  were  ordered  aboard  the  ferry  and  taken  across  the  river, 
'icv  informed  us  that  the  place  of  exchange  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  Richmond.  On  landing  at  Wilmington  proper,  we 
were  met  by  sympathetic  ladies  with  baskets  on  their  arms  filled 
with  eatables,  which  they  began  to  give  the  prisoners.  Soon  the 
officers  ordered  them  to  desist,  and  directed  the  guards  not  to 
allow  them  to  approach  within  fifteen  feet  of  us.  One  woman, 
more  determined  than  the  others,  broke  her  bread  into  pieces 
and  threw  it  over  the  heads  of  the  guards,  whereupon  Lieuten- 
ant Mosby  ran  inside  the  guard  line,  took  the  bread  from  the 
prisoner  who  was  eating  it.  gave  him  a  kiek  and  threw  it  away, 
and  at  the  same  time  ordered  the  guard  to  shoot  any  one  throw- 
ing bread  to  the  d — d  Yankee  s — s  of  b — hes.  As  we  were  pass- 
ing along   the    do.-k.   one   of   the    prisoners    fell    from   exhaustion, 

and  did  not  have  strength  to  gel  up.     The  captain  ordered  him 

to  gel    up  and   go  along,   hut    he   lacked   the  strength;  and    then 
the  captain  grew  impatienl  and,  after  kicking  him  several  times 

in  the  head,   went    his  way   Leaving  his   victim  bleeding   from   the 

nose  and  mouth.     This  captain  was  a  one-armed  man.     I  could 

not  learn  his  name. 

We  were  taken  out  back  of  the  city  to  the  sand  hills,  and  there 

awaited    rations,   which    were    brOUghl    to   us   about    nine    in    the 
evening.     The  wind  was  blowing  off  the  coast,  damp  and  cold. 

and  so  the  suffering  was  intense.    Before  morning  we  were  put 


88  ElEPORl    01    A  MM-.icxt.w  ii.i.i;   .Mom   mint   COMMISSION 

aboard  a  train  and  taken  north  ;is  Par  as  Tarboro,  when  our 
guards  said  they  li;i<l  received  a  message  ordering  us  back  to 
Wilmington,  as  the  poinl  for  exchange  had  been  changed  again. 
1  i old  one  of  the  guards  I  thoughl  thai  countermand  \\;is  given 
by  Yankee  cavalry  raiders.  He  cocked  his  muskel  and  ordered 
me  to  slnii  up.  which  order  I  promptly  obeyed.  We  then  stoppeu 
two  days  in  Wilmington,  camped  on  high  ground  back  of  the 
city,  and  watched  the  shells  hurst  in  the  air  at  uight,  which 
gave  us  some  encouragement.  Then  they  announced  that  the 
flag  of  truce  was  in  sight.  We  were  ordered  to  Pall  in  to  go  to 
the  boat  to  meet  the  said  flag.  We  had  gotten  aboul  half  way 
to  the  dock  when  a  train  of  tint  cars  backed  up  and  we  were  or- 
dered on  board  double  quick.  The  boys  were  moving  too  slowly 
to  suit  the  officers  so  our  guards  were  ordered  to  fix  bayonets 
and  charge,  which  they  did  very  promptly.  Six  o'clock  tie'  nexl 
morning  found  us  in  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina.  It  was  a  very 
cold  night,  and  my  feet  were  :o  tender  that  they  were  frozen 
again.  Two  men  on  tin  same  car  with  me  were  chilled  to  death. 
We  were  then  taken  out  to  a  uear-by  swamp  and  put  upon  a 
little  knoll,  where  we  remained  four  days.  We  were  ah'c  to 
gather  dead  limbs  and  refuse  on  the  ground,  and  so  made  our- 
selves as  comfortable  as  was  possible  under  the  circumstances. 

We  found  many  kind  and  sympathetic  people  in  Goldsboro 
who  were  disposed  to  help  us.  but  the  officers  refused  to  lei 
them.  One  old  lady  (God  bless  her  for  she  saved  many  lives!) 
was  bolder  than  the  rest.  She  came  down  and  passed  througll 
the  lines  with  her  pail  of  milk  and  some  bread  and  sweet  pota- 
toes, and.  selecting  out  the  sick  and  weak  ones,  gave  them  the 
nourishing  food,  ignoring  the  threats  of  the  officers  and  guards 
to  kill  her.  The  next  time  she  came  with  a  oegro  woman, 
who  bore  a  little  tub  on  her  head,  carrying  a  pail  in  one  hand 
and  leading  a  mule  and  carl  with  the  other.  The  officers  then 
go1  desperate  and  refused  to  lei  her  come  near  us  or  to  give 
succor  even  f<>  the  dying.  One  morning  she  came  again  and  we 
could  sec  determination  in  her  face  and  a  firmness  in  her  step3 
but  they  kept  her  back  by  forming  a  line  of  fixed  bayonets. 
She  then  appealed  to  the  captain  to  allow  her  to  pass  inside  to 
give  somthing  to  the  sick  and  starving;  yet  all  to  no  avail. 
The  captain  said  if  she  had  anything  to  give,  to  give  it  to  their 
own  men.  not   to  the   Yankees  who  had   come  down  there  to  kill 


Person ai    Reminiscences  op  D.  G.  James  B9 

their  friends  and  to  destroy  their  property.  He  declared  thai 
all  he  desired  to  do  \\;is  to  keep  the  breath  of  life  in  the  Yan- 
kees long  enough  to  Lr«t  strong,  healthy  men  in  exchange  [or 
tli.-m:  that  he  coulil  imt  krep  ui  a  greal  while  longer  and  in- 
tended 1"  ;i\  us  so  th.it  we  would  never  Be  of  any  use  when 
he  got  [Tone  with  us.  she  tola"  him  tin-  ¥ ankees  were  human 
beings  as  well  as  other  men,  and  that  she  would  care  for  t  era 
as  long  as  Bhe  could.  She  called  him  a  brute,  withoul  any  feel- 
ing of  manhood  about  him.  He  kepi  her  from  coming  inside 
the  lines,  y.'t  Bhe  threw  her  bread  in  spite  of  his  orders.  On< 
of  the  prisoners  had  a  little  talk  with  her  and  she  told  him  they 
would  have  to  release  us  soon,  as  communications  were  cul  to 
the  n«>rth  of  there  and  that  our  army  had  taken  Wilmington; 
s«»  they  would  be  obliged  to  give  us  up.  He  then  thanked  her 
for  her  kindness  and  asked  her  what  we  could  ever  do  to  repay 
her  for  being  bo  good  to  us.  She  said.  "  When  you  get  into  your 
lines,  drink  all  the  good  old  Yankee  coffee  you  can,  and  think 
of  a  poor  old  woman  who  has  not  had  a  taste  of  it  for  nigh  unto 
foin  years."  That  is  the  last  we  ever  heard  of  our  kind  friend. 
I  have  wished  many  times  I  had  her  name.  February  25th  we 
took  another  of  our  usual, paroles,  went  aboard  the  cars  thai 
night  and  arrived  inside  our  lines,  aboul  sundown.  February  20, 
on  the  north  branch  of  the  Gape  Fear  River,  a  very  happy 
-  to  our  condition,  the  troops  who  were  stationed 
there  can  tell.  It  \>  said  that  the  civilization  of  a  nation  is 
measured  by  the  way  it  t reals  its  p_risoji££S.    If  that  to  be  so,  the 

sailed  Confederate  state  of  America  must  sink  pretty  low- 
down  in  the  scale.  In  justice  to  those  who  resorted  to  the  ex- 
treme measures  of  " galvanizing/ '  as  the  only  means  of  saving 
their  lives,  yet  had  no  intention  of  helping  the  enemy,  but  only 

gain  their  freedom,  let  me  pay  tins:  They  were  no  sooner 
out  and  fed  until  they  began  planning  for  an  escape.  They 
were  taken  to  Savannah  and  put  to  work  to  confront  Sherman's 
army,  but,  as  they  were  ab<  ut  to  make  t'  e  attempt  to  cut  through 
and  fight  for  their  freedom,  some  eowardly  traitor  'Mine  in  and 
gave  tii«*  plot  away,  when  the  battalion  found  them  elves  sur- 
rounded  by  a  superior  force  and  were  disarmed  and  put  under 
arrest.  The  eight  sergeants  were  shot  ami  the  privates  and  mr- 
porals  returned  to  the  stockade.  One  of  these  sergeants 
the  man  who  had  been  la  hed  for  refusing  to  turn  a  hand  spring. 


90  EtEPOIM    OF    A.NDERSONVILLE   MONUMENT   COMMISSION 

When  they  were  1o  be  executed  the  eight  wore  placed  in  a  row 
in  the  presence  of  Hie  disarmed  hnttalion.  Seven  were  blind- 
folded, l»ni  the  eighth  refused  to  be,  saying  lie  desired  to  be 
Launched  into  eternity  with  the  faces  of  those  cruel  men 
branded  on  his  brow.  Thus  lie  would  know  the  fiends  who 
would  thus  starve  men,  and  then  shoot  them  for  trying  to  ob- 
tain their  freedom.  Then,  standing  erect  with  arms  folded, 
he  gave  the  command  to  fire,  as  he  was  ready.  He  fell 
pierced  through  the  heart,  a  victim  of  Jeff  Davis'  damnable 
policy  to  establish  a  Confederacy.  This  was  related  to  me  by 
those  who  were  eye  witnesses  to  the  tragedy. 

This  is  a  short  sketch  of  my  own  experience  for  seven  months 
as  a  prisoner  of  war  in  the  hands  of  a  so-called  govern  menl 
which  was  conceived  in  inequity  and  maintained  during  its 
short  existence  in  crime  and  brutailty.  It  was  fostered  by 
traitors  that  had  been  educated  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment and  had  at  various  times  sworn  allegiance  to  it.  When 
the  crisis  came  they  headed  a  column  in  intrigue  and  treachery 
to  induce  the  well-disposed  and  would-be  loyal  South  to  join 
them  in  the  hellish  Avork  of  perpetuating  slavery  and  destroy- 
ing a  government  which  had  been  fought  for  and  established 
by  such  men  as  AVasliington,  Madison.  Franklin  and  La  Fay- 
ette. And  now,  after  forty-five  years,  who  thinks  we  ought 
to  forget?  No,  that  is  impossible  for  me  as  I  look  back  and 
see  my  poor  starving  comrades  doing  unheard  of  things  to 
sustain  life  until  succor  might  reach  them.  All  this  is  borne 
out  by  the  testimony  in  the  investigation  of  the  Congressional 
committee,  in  the  trial  of  Captain  Wirz,  the  evil  genius  of 
Andersonville. 


lvcts  Prom  Poll  ird's  Iji  i. 


CHAPTER   V. 

EXTRACTS    FROM    POLLARD'S    LIFE    OF    JEFFERSON 

DAVIS    AND    THE    SECRET    BISTORY    OF 

THE    CONFEDERACY. 

"When  a  section  of  constitutional  Jaw  is  once  broken  down, 
the  citadel  of  liberty  is  .sudd  taken. 

'"And  so  it  swiftly  proved  al  Richmond.  Heretofore  Mr, 
Davis  in  all  his  public  addresses  had  declared  thai  tin.-  Confeder 
at.-  government  was  established  to  preserve  their  ''ancient  insti- 
tutions"; he  constantly  pointed  to  the  disregard   which  the 

th  had  shown  for  civil  liberty,  to  its  suspension  of  hal 
corpus,  to  bastiles  filled  with  prisoners,  arrested  without  Legal 
process  or  indictment;  and  not  later  than  the  day  of  his  3 
ond  inauguration,  he  had  congratulated  tin-  South  that  through 
all  the  necessities  of  an  unequal  struggle  there  has  been  no  act 
on  <uii-  part  to  impair  personal  liberty,  or  the  freedom  of  Bpeech, 

thought,  or  of  tie-  pr.-ss.     This  argument  of  superior  liberty 
in  i       I       federacy  had  been  advanced  on  every  occasion;  the 

preservation  of  the  civil  routine  in  a  time  of  war.  had  1 0  the 

habitual  boast  of  Mr.  Davis.  Now  he  was  compelled  to  swal- 
low this  Lit  of  glittering  stereotype.     For  in  a  few  weeks  there 

a  exhibited  in  Richmond  a  military  tyranny  that   outdid  the 

rnment    at    Washington,  that    committed   outrs 

of  which  the  newspapers  spared  accounts,  and  of  which  sub- 

lent    narrati  the    war   have    only    given    imperfect 

glimpses,  hut   which  were  unexcelled   in  the  history  of  sudden 

and  violent   usurpations. 

"To  the  conscription  law  there  were  two  notable  sequels :  one, 

an  attempt  to  prescribe  the  productions  of  the  country — the 
ultra  rule  of  despotism;  the  other,  the  establishment  of  a  mili- 
tary police  of  the  most  frightful  and  odious  description.  The 
first  usurpation  Tailed,  at  Least  to  the  extent  it  designed,  but 
only  by  a  Blender  majority  in  the  Confederate  senate.     It  had 


92        Report  of  Andersonville  Moni  mint  Commission 

been  at  first  proposed  there  to  advise  the  planters  of  the  South 
to  abstain  from  raising  cotton  and  tobacco,  so  ;is  to  increase 
the  producl  of  grain  and  provisions  in  the  country.  For  this 
proposition  Mr.  Brown,  of  Mississippi,  offered  a  substitute,  to 
curtail  the  cotton  crop;  providing  in  detail  thai  no  planter  or 
head  of  a  family  should  sow  more  cotton  seed  than  would  pro 
ducc  three  bales  of  the  staple  for  himself,  and  one  bale  for 
each  of  the  hands  employed  in  the  culture  during  the  year 
L862,  and  thai  he  should  be  sworn  to  the  extenl  of  his  crop 
under  a  penalty  for  perjury.  It  is  an  illustration  of  the  rapid 
advance  of  despotic  ideas  in  Richmond,  thai  such  a  proposition 
should  have  been  even  entertained.  The  government,  pro- 
tested Mr.  Bunter  of  Virginia,  had  no1  the  shadow  of  a  righl 
to  go  to  any  of  the  states  and  say  how  much  cotton  should  be 
produced.  The  sovereignty  of  the  states  themselves  hardly 
dare  do  this,  much  less  the  delegated  power  of  the  Confeder- 
acy. It'  he  believed  that  Congress  would  pass  any  such  act, 
or  the  government  possessed  any  such  power,  he  would  pro- 
nounce it  a  most  ootorious  despotism,  worse  even  than  that 
from  which  the  people  of  the  South  had  just  escaped.  The 
infamous  bill  Tailed  through  only  three  votes  in  the  senate: 
but  Mr.  Hunter's  denunciation  of  it.  and  of  the  tendency  it 
exhibited  to  despotic  rule,  was  conveniently  omitted  from  the 
newspapers,  while  it  smarted  in  the  ears  of  Mr.  Davis. 

"The  worst  despotism,  however,  into  which  the  president 
plunged,  alarmed  by  the  military  disasters  thai  had  occurred 
and  by  the  now  visible  approach  of  McClellan's  army  to  Rich- 
mond, was  to  declare  martial  law  for  ten  miles  around  the  cap- 
ital, and  to  supplant  all  the  civil  authorities  by  a  military 
police  of  the  vilest  materials  that  could  be  raked  from  the  dens 
or  fished  from  the  slums  of  his  dissolute  capital.  Every  one 
who  lived  in  Richmond  in  those  days  has  cause  to  remember 
Winder's  Police.  The  excuse  which  Mr.  Davis  made  for  fast- 
ening on  the  city  the  atrocious  curse  of  these  creatures  was 
that  a  Union  sentiment  was  being  developed  as  McClellan  ad- 
vanced, thai  summary  arrests  of  suspected  persons  might  be- 
come necessary,  and  thai  a  new  vigilance  was  necessary  to 
guard  against  political  conspiracies.  There  was,  indeed,  a 
greal  uneasiness  in  Richmond  as  the  Federal  army  gathered 
around    it:    the    air   was    poisoned    by    rumors    ami    suspicions; 


t.\CTF   Prow   P< >ll ird'h  Life 

there  was  a  necessity  for  vigilance  and  vigor.    But  a  police  com 
posed  of  rowdies  .  1 1 1 « I  gamblers  was  imported  from  Baltimore 
as  non-conscripts,  the  vilest  of  adventurers,  who  mighl  without 
legal  pro<    ss  t<  ar  any  citizen  from  his  home  who  made  < I < - 1 1 1 1 1 > 
ciations,  who  trafficked  in  bribes,  and  from  whom  no  man  was 
safe.     The  newspapers  did  not  publish  the  arrests,  or  only  aa 
the  scantiesl  items;  and.  although  Inn   few   persona  were  actu 
ally   imprisoned  on  account    of  their  political  sentiments,  the 

se8  were  many  where  respectable  citizens,  among  them  ladies, 
were  conveyed  to  certain  tribunals  held  in  drinking  shops  and 
the  "pens"  of  negro  trader8  and  "  \\  'arned  *'  by  police  mag- 
nates of  i  h<-  president *s  orders. 

"An  incident  illustrating  the  outrages  and  effrontery  of  this 
political  police  is  recollected  by  the  author.  In  ;i  boarding 
house  in  Richmond  was  an  estimable  lady,  ;i  native  of  Virginia, 
who  owned  ,-i  large  estate  of  negroea  in  Culpeper  county.  She 
had  been  very  much  annoyed  by  the  desertion  of  her  slaves; 
and  hearing  of  the  flight  of  one  of  of  the  most  valuable  of  them, 
she  exclaimed  t<>  ;i  company  assembled  in  the  parlor,  "I  do 
wish  the  Yankees  would  come  and  take  away  all  the  negroes.' 
It  was  nothing  more  than  a  petulant  remark — such  as  one  liv- 
ing  in  the  South  might  hear  a  hundred  times,  when  the  mistrea8 
of  the  house  w.is  disposed  to  describe  her  slaves  ;is  pests  and 
><>iir.-,-s  of  annoyance.  The  remark,  through  some  channel, 
w.is  reported  to  General  Winder,  commanding  the  Department 
of  Henrico.  The  next  day  the  lady  was  called  to  the  door 
by  a  shabby  stranger;  she  came  back  running  into  the  parlor 
ping,  and  pr;iyin!_r  some  gentleman  in  the  house  to  protect 
her.  She  had  received  the  dread  summons  to  appear  before 
General  Winder  on  a  charge  of  uttering  treasonable  sentiments. 
There  could  !"•  no  opposition  or  escape;  the  detective  was  at 
the  doni-.  importunate  for  his  victim,  h  was  only  when  this 
tmplshed  and  delicately  nurtured  lady  had  been  compelled 
t«>  walk  nearly  a  mile  through  the  street,  to  enter  a  mean  build- 
ing recently  used  ;i^  ;t  drinking  shop,  i<>  press  through  a  throng 
of  rum  sellers  and  rowdies  to  the  dirty  throne  .u'  Winder,  and 
humbly  i<>  protest  there  that  her  offense  had  been  temper  and 
not  reason,  that  she  was  allowed  to  depart  with  the  brutal  in- 
junction to  hold  her  tongue  in  t'ut ure. 

"At  the  head  of  this  wretched  police  business,  which  in  some 
form   or  other  continued   through   the  administration   of   Mr. 


94        Report  of  Andebsonville  Monument  Commission 

Davis,  he  placed  a  man  than  whom  a  fitter  exponenl  of  despol 
ism  and  cruelty  could  qo1  be  found  within  the  limits  of  the 
South.  This  person  was  General  Winder,  of  Maryland,  whose 
name  thousands  of  Living  persons  ye1  recall  with  horror:  and 
;i  character  thai  deserves  an  especial  study  in  the  moral  his- 
tory of  the  war.  At  lirst  sighl  tins  person  was  not  unpleasant. 
Mr,  Ely,  the  memorable  state  prisoner  of  the  Libby,  speaks  0$ 
General  Winder,  then  his  principal  jailor,  as  an  agreeable, 
grey-headed  officer,  a  little  disposed  to  stand  on  his  dignity, 
prim  and  neat  to  scrupulousness,  yet  having  no  traits  of 
harshness  in  his  manner  or  countenance.  But  this  impres- 
sion was  not  that  of  a  close  study.  This  man,  whom  President 
Davis  had  found  in  some  obscure  place  in  the  old  army,  and 
kepi  to  the  end  of  his  administration  as  his  chief  of  military 
police  and  head-jailor  of  the  Confederacy,  was  near  sixty  years 
of  age;  his  hair  was  white  and  tufty;  and  at  a  distance  he  had 
a  patriarchal  appearance.  But  his  face  was  the  picture  of 
cruelty,  a  study  for  an  artist;  a  harsh,  dry  face;  cruel  eyes, 
not  muddy  as  from  temper,  but  writh  a  clear,  cold  light  in  them ; 
a  faded,  poisonous  mouth,  on  which  a  smile  seemed  mockery. 

"Under  the  martial  law  proclaimed  in  Richmond,  this  creat- 
ure held  in  his  hands  the  powers  of  a  viceroy.  Tie  was  responsi- 
ble to  no  one  but  Mr.  Davis.  He  ordered  what  arrests  he  pleased  ; 
he  regulated  trade;  he  gave  permits  for  the  transportation  of 
goods ;  he  hunted  conscripts  through  the  streets.  As  a  curious 
specimen  of  his  authority,  we  may  quote  a  single  order:  "The 
obtaining  by  conscripts  of  substitutes  through  the  medium  of 
agents  is  strictly  forbidden.  "When  such  agents  are  employed, 
the  principal,  the  substitute,  and  the  agent  will  be  impressed 
into  the  military  service,  and  the  money  paid  for  the  substitute, 
and  as  a  reward  to  the  agent,  will  be  confiscated  by  the  gov- 
ernment." It  is  almost  incredible  that  such  despotic  edicts 
could  be  issued  in  the  capital  of  the  Southern  Confederacy: 
but  here  they  were,  written  under  the  eye  of  Mr.  Davis,  and  put 
in  the  hands  of  his  creature  for  execution.  Winder  carried 
the  interests  of  Richmond  in  his  pocket.  If  a  citizen  wished 
to  commute  for  military  duty,  if  a  merchant  desired  to  secure 
the  sacrifice  of  his  flour  ami  bacon  from  the  tariff  of  prices 
under  martial  law.  if  a  liquor  dealer  wished  to  bring  into  the 
city   a    lot    of  apple    brandy.    Winder   had    to   be   seen,   and    his 


K\  i  r  \.  i  ]  Kkiim  Poll uid's  Life  95 

favor  had  to  be  Becured.    He  \\  .t --  courted,  caressed;  people  of 
all  smis  s.nt    linn   presents;  and   when  an  acquaintance  Bug 

ted  to  him  thai  it  was  imprudenl  to  receive  such  testimonies 
of  regard,  and  thai  they  mighl  be  closely  interpreted  as  bribes, 
the  reply  was:  'If  the  devil  himself  chooses  to  Bend  me  presents, 
I  don't  Bee  why  1  should  not  accepl  them.'  He  had  a  fin-ions 
habit  aboul  these  offerings;  they  Beldom  availed  to  obtain  any 
return  from  him.  His  peculiarity  in  this  respect  suggests  a 
description  in  Macaulay  of  the  infamous  Jeffreys,  to  the  effect 
that  he  would  often  carouse  with  the  meanesl  turn;  but  when 
he  was  sober  on  the  bench,  and  his  companions  of  the  nighl 

are  would  presume  on  the  maudlin  affection  they  had  con- 
tracted in  their  cups,  he  would  pretend  not  to  know  them,  and 
would  drown  their  attempts  at  familiarity  in  volleys  of  wrath 
and  imprecation.  There  was  a  striking  analogy  to  such  be- 
havior in  the  relations  of  Winder  and  his  gift-bearers.  He 
invariably  accepted  anything  sent  him  in  the  shape  of  a  pres- 
ent; tin-  ingenious  wretch  who  had  sent  it,  perhaps  to  escape 
tin-  conscription,  or  to  <*et  a  permit  to  traffic  in  liquors,  would 
felicitate  himself  that  he  had  secured  his  concession,  that  the 
business  was  done:  but  the  next  day  would  come  au  order  to 
rlap  him  in  the  conscript  camp,  or  to  impound  all  tho  whiskey 
on  his  premises.  It  was  a  feline  way  the  General  had  of  play- 
ing with  his  victims,  and  must  have  been  intensely  gratifying 
to  a  nature  like  his.  The  unhappy  bearer  of  gifts  seldom  es- 
caped from  his  dutches— the  gifts  never." 

Tn  connection  with  the  scarcity  of  food  and  necessary  sup- 
plies in  the  South  occurs  a  subject  of  interest  which  we  may 
conveniently  examine  here.  We  refer  to  that  lame  volume  of 
complaint  against  Mr.  Davis  for  the  maltreatment  of  Northern 
prisoners,  especially  in  the  article  of  subsistence.  We  have 
already,  on  the  subjeel  of  the  Confederate  commissariat,  made 
some  suggestions  which  throw  some  light  on  this  matter:  but  we 
find  no  more  proper  place  in  our  work  than  the  present  to  sub- 
mit ;i  brief  account  of  the  administration  of  the  Confederate 
prisons.  We  propose  thus  to  go  over  rapidly  the  history  of  the 
subsistence  of  Federal  prisoners  in  the  South— a  subject  so 
serious  and  interesting  as  to  have  called  for  extensive  investiga 
t i<»n  both  at  Washington  and  Richmond,  but  the  secrel  history 
of  which  is  scarcely  yet  known 


96        Report  oi    Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

ll  is  remarkable  thai  in  the  early  periods  of  flic  war  there 
was  no  system  whatever,  n<>  organized  provision,  for  subsisting 
the  prisoners  who  soon  commenced  to  accumulate  on  the  hands 
of  the  government.  There  was  an  officer,  of  the  rank  of  lieuten- 
ant, who  had  charge  of  the  unfortunate  creatures,  who  sub- 
sisted them  by  irregular  purchases  in  the  Richmond  markets, 
and  who  was  left  to  determine,  a1  his  own  discretion,  the  measure 
and  article  of  food.  He  was  removed  for  a  singular  freak  some 
weeks  after  the  battle  of  Mana&sas.  Having  had  a  drunken 
quarrel  with  the  quartermaster  as  to  who  shon'd  bury  the  dead 
of  the  prison,  he  had  lefl  two  corpses  in  front  of  the  office  of 
the  latter,  in  a  wagon  halted  in  one  of  the  most  public  streets 
near  the  Capitol,  and,  unhitching  the  horses  in  sighl  of  a  horri- 
fied crowd,  had  abandoned  the  "dead  Yankees"  to  lake  their 
chances  of  burial  as  the  authorities,  oilier  than  himself,  mighl 
determine.  Ii  was  a  day's  scandal  in  Richmond,  and  the  brutal 
officer  was  removed.  Bu1  for  forty-eight  hours  nearly  two 
thousand  prisoners  were  without  a  mouthful  of  food  until  a  sub- 
ordinate of  the  prison,  moved  by  their  cries  or  alarmed  by  their 
mutiny,  found  some  barrels  o\'  corn  meal  in  the  stores  of  the 
prison,  and  U'd  it  to  them  in  buckets  of  mush. 

ii  was  through  this  humane  diligence  that  Captain  Warner, 
;i  generous  and  efficient  man,  became  afterwards  charged  with 
the  subsistence  of  the  prisoners.  The  captain  often  told  in 
Richmond,  with  greal  emotion,  his  experience  with  the  prisoners, 
mutinous  and  savage  for  want  of  food;  for  surely  there  is  no 
fiercer  devil  in  the  human  composition,  none  that  dares  more, 
than  hunger,  lie  was  walking  in  the  prisoners'  galleries  of 
the  Libby,  explaining  that  a  difficulty  had  occurred  in  their  sup- 
plies of  food  hut  that  they  should  have  illimitable  stores  on  the 
morrow,  when  an  immense  Yankee  boatswain  clutched  him  bv 
the  collar,  and  dragged  him  into  a  circle  of  angry  faces,  desper- 
ate from  hunger.  "You  are  a  good  commissary, ' '  said  -lack, 
"and  I  am  a  good  prisoner;  1.  am  the  besl  prisoner  yon  eVer 
saw  in  the  world:  but,  d — n  me,  if  I  had  not  rather  face  one 
hundred  of  Jefferson  Davis's  cannon  than  he  starved  like  a 
dog."  *'l  felt  rather  unhappy  for  a  few  minutes,"  said  Cap- 
tain Warner,  "bu1  1  promised  the  fellow  who  shook  me.  heavy 
as  I  was,  as  if  I  was  no  more  than  a  baby  in  his  hands,  that  if 
he  would  let  me  go,  he  should   have  some  grub  in   half  an  hour. 


E  \  i  r  \(  tf  Pr<  »m   Poi  i.  \km>  V  Life 

1  found  uothing  in  the  storehouse  of  the  prison  bul  three  barrels 
i»i*  nK.il.  I  made  it  into  ho1  mush,  filled  Borne  buckets  with  !:, 
and  had  it  passed  in  to  the  prisoners.  Bui  you  may  bel  I  didn't 
inside.  I  called  to  Jack  through  the  ltt.i1  <•  that  I  had  gol 
him  the  healthiesl  supper  1  could,  and  not  to  le1  the  men  burn 
their  mouths. 

The  next  day  Captain  Warner  represented  to  General  Winder, 
the  principal  officer  in  charge  of  the  prisoners,  lliai  there  was  no 
subsistence  for  them,  and  thai  they  were  in  the  actual  pangs  of 
hunger.  He  was  directed  a1  once  to  make  a  requisition  on 
Colonel  Northrop,  the  cross-grained  and  eccentric  Commissary 
eral-  an  officer  whose  idea  of  importance  was  to  have  a  fit 
of  insolence  whenever  he  was  approached,  and  who  was  either 
gruff  or  hystrri.-al  in  his  official  intercourse. 

'*  I  know  nothing  <>(  Yankee  prisoners,' '  he  said;  " throw  them 
all   into  the  -Tames  "River.'' 

**.\t  least,"  said  Captain  Warner,  "tell  mo  how  I  am  to  keep 
my  accounts  for  the  prisoners'  subsistence.' ' 

"Sir."  said  Northrop,  slightly  inclining  his  eye3  to  the  anxious 
inquirer,  "I  have  not  the  will  or  the  time  to  speak  with  yon. 
Chuck  the  scoundrels  into  tin   river." 

Here  was  a  quandary.  There  was  no  law  to  charge  the  Com- 
missary-General with  the  subsistence  of  prisoners;  he  insisted 
thai  it  belonged  to  the  quartermaster's  department:  the  latter 
denied  it.  and.  in  a  dead-lock  of  quibbles,  the  prisoners  might 
he  left  to  starve.  The  ingenuity  of  a  lawyer  was  required  to 
solve  the  dispute.  Captain  Warner  had  been  appointed  Com- 
missary of  Prisons,  and  yet  Northrop  refused  to  acknowledge  Ins 
authority  or  to  till  his  requisitions,  and  was  completely  obscure 
and  impracticable  on  a  question  of  humanity.  Happily  a  con- 
venienl  law  or  military  regulation  was  hunted  up,  to  the  effeel 
that  a  bonded  commissary  mighl  be  assigned  to  perform  cer- 
tain duties  of  a  quartermaster  at  the  post.  Under  this  law 
Captain  Warner  mighl  draw  his  supplies  from  the  Quartermas- 
ter-General, and  mighl  be  independent  of  the  odious  Northrop. 
Another  obscure  statute  was  discovered;  ii  was  an  acl  of  the 
early  Congress  at  Montgomery;  it  consisted  only  of  three  or 
four  lines,  yet  it  was  very  important.  It  provided  with  rare 
humanity  that  the  prisoners  of  war  should  have  the  same  ra- 
tions as  Confederate  soldiers  in  the  Held. 
7 


98        Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

Under  the  arrangemenl  indicated  by  these  laws  the  prisoner* 
were  comfortably,  and  even  generously,  subsisted  for  many 
months.  The  arrangement  was  perfected  not  long  after  the 
battle  of  Manassas.  Pood  was  then  abundant  in  Richmond, 
.-iiid  the  besl  beef  sold  for  only  eighl  cents  a  pound.  When 
supplies  became  scarce;  when  the  foolish  law  authorized  im- 
pressments and  assigning  "government  prices."  drove  nearly 
every  producer  from  the  market,  it  became  a  matter  of  extreme 
difficulty  to  feed  the  prisoners,  and  to  divide  what  could  be 
obtained  between  their  necessities  and  those  of  the  Confederate 
troops  in  the  field.  The  Commissary  of  Prisons,  acting  inde- 
pendently of  Northrop,  employed  traveling  agencies  to  pur- 
chase supplies  at  the  best  prices,  and  never  allowed  his  solici- 
tude for  the  unhappy  men  in  his  charge  to  be  impaired  by 
demands  in  other  departments  of  the  government.  As  evidence 
of  this  solicitude  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  the  winter  of 
1863,  a  memorable  season  of  scarcity,  it  was  proposed  to  buy 
supplies  for  the  prisoners  in  some  of  the  upper  counties  of 
Virginia,  where  Confederate  money  was  refused,  and  that  to 
effect  the  humane  undertaking  General  Lawton,  then  Quarter- 
master General,  was  willing  to  draw  a  requisition  for  fifty 
thousand  dollars  in  gold. 

Bu1  these  purchases  were  defeated  by  an  unforeseen  inter- 
ference. Commissary  Northrop  had  opposed  all  purchases  of 
supplies  outside  of  his  department;  he  complained  that  Cap- 
tain Warner  paid  larger  prices  than  the  government  maxi- 
mum ;  he  insisted  that  as  the  first  care  was  to  provide  for  the 
troops  in  the  field,  he  should  have  the  first  option  of  all  market- 
able supplies;  and  at  last  he  assumed  to  impress  the  subsistence 
purchased  for  the  prisoners  and  to  divert  it  to  his  own  depart- 
ment. A  fierce  war  was  waged  between  him  and  Warner;  rival 
committees  of  investigation  were  raised  in  Congress:  and  1he 
supplies  of  Libby  prison  became  a  bone  of  contention.  On  one 
occasion  Warner's  agents  had  brought  down  from  Augusta 
county  a  drove  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  beeves,  and 
Northrop  had  performed  a  coup  d'etat  by  impressing  them  on 
the  out  shirts  of  "Richmond.  Not  to  be  entirely  outdone,  Cap- 
t;iin  Warner,  in  the  winter  of  1863,  loaded  sixty-three  cars  in 
North  Carolina  wit  h  sweel  potatoes,  brought  them  to  the  Li  bin  . 
pounded  them  and  then  sifted  them  through  the  wire-nets  lie 


Extr  \<  ts  From  Poi  i  urn's  Ltfe 

tore  from  the  windows,  and  composed  a  curious  bread  made  of 
equal  measures  of  mash  of  potatoes,  flour  and  cornmeal.  'Ii 
was  tli*'  best  bread  I  ever  ate,M  Bays  Captain  Warner.  But 
even  iliis  invention  was  spoiled  by  Northrop.  Il«'  had  deter 
mined  to  take  control  of  all  the  subsistence  of  the  Confederacy, 
ami  to  interdict  all  special  purchases  for  the  consumption  of 
prisoners.  The  first  result  was  a  regulation  requiring  the 
Commissary  of  Prisons  to  purchase  from  the  Commissary- 
General;  and  ultimately,  in  the  Bpring  of  1864,  8  law  was 
passesd  virtually  abolishing  the  former  office  and  transferring 
the  subsistence  of  prisoners  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  man 
who  had  wished  the  thousands  of  them  in  Richmond  at  the 
bot torn  of  James  River. 


LOO      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 


CHAPTER   VI. 

FROM   JOHN  .1.   MeELROY'S,  "A  STORY  OF  SOUTHERN 

PRISONS." 

As  I  started  to  drink  my  firsl  ration  of  soup,  il  seemed 
1o  me  thai  there  was  a  superfluity  of  bugs  upon  its  surface. 
Much  as  I  wanted  animal  food,  I  did  not  care  for  fresh  meal  in 
that  form.  I.  skimmed  them  off  carefully,  so  as  to  lose  as 
little  SOUp  as  possible,  lint  the  to])  layer  seemed  to  be  under- 
laid with  another  equally  dense.  This  was  also  skimmed  off 
as  deftly  as  possible.  Bui  beneath  this  appeared  still  another 
layer  which,  when  removed,  showed  still  another;  and  so  on, 
until  T  had  scraped  to  the  bottom  of  the  can,  and  the  last  of 
the  bugs  went  with  the  last  of  my  soil]),  i  have  before 
spoken  of  the  remarkable  bug  fecundity  of  the  beans.  This 
was  a  demonstration  of  it.  Every  scouped  out  pea  which  found 
its  way  into  the  sou])  bore  inside  of  its  shell  from  ten  to  twenty 
of   these    hard-crusted   little   weevils. 

Afterward  I  drank  my  sou])  without  skimming.  It  was  not 
that  I  hated  the  weevils  less,  but  that  I  loved  the  soup  more. 
It  was  only  another  step  toward  a  closer  conformity  to  that 
grand  rule  which  I  have  made  the  guiding  maxim  of  my  life: 

"-WHEN    I     MUST    I    HAD    BETTER." 

T  recommend  this  to  other  young  men  starting  on  their  career. 

For  some  inscrutable  reason  the  rebels  decided  to  vaccinate 
us  all.  Why  they  did  this  has  been  one  of  the  unsolved  prob- 
lems of  my  life.  It  is  true  thai  there  was  small-pox  in  the  city. 
and  among  the  prisoners  at  Danville;  but  that  any  considera- 
tion \'<>v  our  safety  should  have  led  them  to  order  general 
inoculation  is  not  among  the  reasonable  inferences.  But,  he 
thai  as  it  may,  vaccination  was  ordered,  and  performed.  By 
greal  luck  I  was  absent  from  the  building  with  the  squad 
drawing  rations,  when  our  room  was  inoculated,  so  1  escaped 


A   Stori   "i    s"i  i  hern    Prisons  HM 

what  w  as  ;m  affliction  to  all,  and  fatal  to  many.  The  direst 
consequences  followed  the  operation.  Foul  ulcers  appeared 
on  various  parts  of  the  bodies  of  the  vaccinated.  In  many  in 
stances  the  arms  literally  rotted  off;  and  death  followed  from 
a  corruption  of  the  Mood.  Frequently  the  faces  and  other 
parts  of  those  who  recovered,  were  disfigured  by  the  ghastly 
cicatrices  of  healed  ulcers.  A  special  friend  of  mine,  Sergeanl 
Prank  Beverstock  then  a  member  of  the  Third  Virginia 
Cavalry,  loyal  .  and  after  the  war  a  banker,  in  Bowling 
Green,  Ohio,-  bore  upon  his  temple  to  his  dying  day,  (which 
occurred  in  ls7^  .  a  fearful  sear,  where  the  flesh  had  sloughed 
off  from  the  effects  of  the  virus  that   had  tainted  his  Mood. 

(  /I'!  N  [<  >N   I  >F  (  iENERAL   Wi  NDER. 

There  rode  in  among  us,  a  few  days  after  our  arrival,  an 
old  man  whose  collar  bore  the  wreathed  stars  of  a  .Major  Gen- 
eral. Heavy  white  locks  fell  from  beneath  his  slouched  hat. 
nearly  to  his  shoulders.  Sunken  gray  eyes,  too  dull  and  cold 
to  lighl  up,  marked  a  hard  stony  face,  the  salient  feature  of 
which  was  a  thin-lipped,  compressed  month,  with  corners 
drawn  down  deeply — such  a  month  as  seems  the  world  over 
to  he  the  index  of  seltish.  cruel,  sulky  ma Ligna nee.  It  is  such 
a  month  as  has  the  school-boy — the  coward  of  the  playground, 
who  delights  in  pulling  off  the  wings  of  Hies.  It  is  such  a 
month  as  we  can  imagine  some  remorseless  inquisitor  to  have 
had — that  is.  not  an  inquisitor  tilled  with  holy  zeal  for  what 
he  mistakingly  thoughl  the  cause  of  Chrisl  demanded,  bul 
a  spleeny,  envious,  rancorous  shaveling,  who  tortured  men 
from  hatred  of  their  superiority  to  him.  and  cor  sheer  love  of 
inflicl  ing  pain. 

The  rider  was  .John  II.  Winder,  Commissary  General  of 
Prisons,  Baltimorean  renegade,  and  ilu-  malign  genius  to  whose 
accounl  should  he  charged  the  deaths  of  more  gallanl  men  than 
all  the  inquisitors  of  the  world  ever  slew  by  the  less  dreadful 

rack  and  wheel.  Il  was  he  who  in  AugUSl  COUld  point  to  the 
three  thousand  and  eighty-one  new  made  graves  for  thai 
month  and  exultingly  tell  his  hearers  thai  he  was  "doing 
more  for  the  Confederacy  than  twenty  regiments." 

His  lineage  was  in  accordance  with  his  character.  Ili^ 
father  was  thai  General  William  II.  Winder,  whose  poltroonery 


ion      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

al  Bladensburg,  in  L814,  aullified  the  resistance  of  the  gallanl 
Commodore  Barney,  and  gave  the  city  of  Washington  to  the 
British. 

The  father  was  a  coward  and  an  incompetenl  ;  the  son,  always 
cautiously  distant  from  the  scene  of  hostilities,  was  the  tor- 
mentor of  those  whom  the  fortunes  of  war,  and  the  anus  of 
brave  men,  threw  into  his  hands. 

Winder  gazed  at  us  stonily  for  a  few  minutes  without  speak- 
ing, and  turning,  rode  out  again. 

Our  troubles,   from  that  hour,  rapidly  increased. 

Description  of  Wirz. 

One  morning  a  new  rebel  officer  came  in  to  superintend 
calling  the  roll.  He  was  on  undersized,  fidgety  man,  with  an 
insignificant  face,  and  a  mouth  that  protruded  like  a  rabbit's. 
His  bright  little  eyes,  like  those  of  a  squirrel  or  a  rat,  as- 
sisted in  giving  his  countenance  a  look  of  kinship  to  the  family 
of  rodent  animals — a  genus  which  lives  by  stealth  and  eu li- 
ning, subsisting  on  that  Avhich  it  can  steal  away  from  stronger 
and  braver  creatures.  He  was  dressed  in  a  pair  of  gray 
trousers,  the  other  parts  of  his  body  being  covered  with  a  cal- 
ico garment  like  that  which  small  boys  used  to  wear,  railed 
"waists."  This  was  fastened  to  the  pantaloons  by  buttons, 
precisely  as  wTas  the  custom  with  the  garments  of  boys  strug- 
gling with  the  orthography  of  words  in  two  syllables.  Upou 
his  head  was  perched  a  little  gray  cap.  Sticking  in  his  belt, 
and  fastened  to  his  Avrist  by  a  strap  two  or  three  feet  long, 
was  one  of  those  formidable  looking,  yet  harmless,  English  re- 
volvers, that  have  ten  ban-els  around  the  edge  of  the  cylinder, 
and  fire  a  musket  bullet  from  the  center.  The  wearer  of  thi^ 
composite  costume,  and  bearer  of  this  amateur  arsenal,  stepped 
nervously  about  and  sputtered  volubly  in  very  broken  English. 
He  said  to  Wry-Necked  Smith: 

"Py  Gott,  you  don't  vatch  dem  dam  Yankees  glose  enough. 
Dey  are  schlipping  'rount,  and  peating  you  efery  times." 

This  was  Captain  Henri  Wirz,  the  new  commandant  of  the 
interior  of  the  prison.  There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  mis- 
apprehension <>f  the  character  of  Wirz.  He  is  usually  regarded 
,-is  a  villain  of  large  mental  caliber,  and  wiih  a  genius  for 
cruelty.      lb'    w;is  nothing  of   the    kind.      He   was  simply  con- 


A  Stori   of  Soi  tim.icn    Prisons  L03 

temptible,  from  whatever  point  of  viev<  be  \\  «< >-  Btudied.  Qna1 
brained,  cowardly,  and  feeble  aatured,  be  bad  do!  a  quality 
that  commanded  respect  from  any  one  who  knew  bim.  His 
cruelty  did  not  Beem  designed  bo  much  as  the  ebullitions  of  a 
rish,  Bnarling  Little  temper  united  i<»  ;i  mind  incapable  of 
conceiving  the  resnlts  of  his  acts,  or  understanding  the  pain 
he  was  inflicting. 

1  never  heard  anything  of  his  profession  or  vocation  be- 
fore  entering  the  army.  I  always  believed,  however,  thai  he 
had  been  a  cheap  clerk  in  a  small  dry-goods  store,  a  third  or 
fourth  rate  bookkeeper,  or  something  similar.  Lmagine,  if 
you  please,  one  such,  who  never  had  brains  put  in  command 
of  thirty-five  thousand  men.  Being  ;i  fool  be  could  not  help 
being  an  infliction  to  them  even  with  the  besl  of  intentions; 
but  Wirz  was  not  troubled  with  good  intentions. 

I  mention  the  probability  of  Ins  having  been  a  dry-goods 
clerk  or  bookkeeper,  not  with  any  disrespect  t<>  those  two 
honorable  vocations,  hut  because  Wirz  had  had  some  training 
a  ii  accountant  ;  and  this  was  what  gave  him  the  place  over 
us.  Rebels,  as  a  rule,  were  astonishingly  ignorant  of  arith- 
metic and  the  keeping  of  accounts.  They  were  good  shots. 
tine  horsemen,  ready  speakers,  and  ardent  politicians,  yet,  like 
all  non-commercial  people,  they  floundered  hopelessly  in  whal 
people  of  this  section  would  consider  simple  mathematical 
proc  ssea  One  of  his  constant  amusements  was  in  befogging 
and  beating  those  charged  with  calling  rolls  and  issuing  ra- 
tions. It  was  not  at  all  difficult  at  times  to  make  ;i  hundred 
men  count    ;is  a   hundred   and   ten.  and   so  on. 

Wirz  could  count  beyond  one  hundred,  and  this  determined 

his    Belection     for    the    place.       His    first     move     was    a     stupid 

change.  We  had  been  grouped  in  the  natural  way.  into  hun- 
dreds and  thousands.  II.-  re-arranged  the  men  in  squads  of 
ninety,  and  three  of  these,  two  hundred  and  seventy  men,  into 
a  detachment.  These  detachments  were  numbered  in  order 
from  the   north    gate  and   the  squads   were   numbered   "one. 

two.    three."      <>n    the    rolls    this    was    staled    after    the    man's 

name.  For  instance,  ;i  chum  of  mine,  and  in  the  same  Bquad 
with  me.  was  Charles  L.  Soule,  of  the  Third  Michigan  Infantry. 

I  lis   name   appeared    on    the    rolls  : 

I  has.  L.  Soule,  priv.  Co.  E.  3rd  .Mich.  Inf.  1   2 


KM:      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

This  meant  thai  he  belonged  1<>  the  second  squad  of  the  firsl 
detachment. 

Whence  W'iiv.  gol   his  preposterous  idea  of  organization  has 

always  been  a  mystery  to  me.     11  was  awkward  iu  every  way — 
in  drawing  rations,  counting,  dividing  into  messes,  etc. 

Wirx  was  nol  long  in  giving  us  a  taste;  of  liis  quality.  The 
ie\t  morning  after  his  first  appearance  lie  came  in,  when  roll 
call  was  sounded,  and  ordered  all  the  squads  and  detachments 
to  form  and  remain  standing  in  ranks  until  all  were  counted. 
Any  soldier  will  say  that  there  is  no  duty  more  annoying  and 
difficult  than  standing  still  in  ranks  for  any  considerable  length 
of  time,  especially  when  there  is  nothing  to  do  or  to  engage 
the  attention.  It  took  Wirz  between  two  and  three  hours  to 
count  the  whole  camp,  and  by  that  time  Ave  of  the  first  de- 
tachments were  almost  all  out  of  ranks.  Thereupon  Wirz  an 
nounced  that  no  rations  would  be  issued  to  the  camp  that 
day.  The  orders  to  stand  in  ranks  were  repeated  the  nexl 
morning  with  a  warning  that  a  failure  to  obey  would  be  pun- 
ished as  that  of  the  previous  day  had  been.  One  man  after 
another  straggled  away,  and  again  we  lost  our  rations.  That 
afternoon  we  became  desperate.  Plots  were  considered  for  a 
daring  assault  to  force  the  gates  or  scale  the  stockade.  The 
men  were  crazy  enough  to  attempt  anything  rather  than  sit 
down  and  patiently  starve.  Many  offered  themselves  as  lead- 
ers in  any  attempt  that  it  might  be  thought  best  to  make. 
The  hopelessness  of  any  such  venture  was  apparent,  even  to 
famished  men,  and  the  propositions  went  no  farther  than  in- 
flamatory  talk. 

The  third  morning  the  orders  were  again  repeated.  This 
lime  we  succeeded  in  remaining  in  ranks  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  satisfy  Wirz,  and  we  were  given  our  rations  for  that  day, 
luil  those  of  the  other  days  were  permanently  withheld. 

That  afternoon  Wirz  ventured  into  camp  alone.  He  was  as- 
sailed with  a  storm  of  curses  and  execration  and  a  shower  of 
clubs.  He  pulled  out  his  revolver  as  if  to  fire  upon  his  assail- 
ants. A  yell  was  raised  to  take  his  pistol  away  from  him  and 
a  crowd  rushed  forward  to  do  this.  Without  waiting  to  fire  a 
shot  he  turned  and  ran  to  the  gate  for  dear  life.  Tie  did  not 
come  in  again  for  a  long  while,  and  never  afterward  without  a 
squad  of.  guards. 


\    s rom    OF   S( \\   rm.i;\    I 'kisi >NS  1  l  i 

The  rations  diminished  perceptibly  da}  bj  day.  When  we 
first  entered  we  received  something  over  a  quarl  of  tolerably 
I  meal,  a  sweet  potato.  ;i  piece  of  meal  about  the  size  of  one  s 
two  fingers,  and  occasionally  .1  spoonful  of  salt.  Firsl  the  salt 
disappeared.  Then  the  sweet  potato  took  unto  itself  wings  and 
flew  away  never  to  return.  An  attempt  was  ostensibly  made  to 
issue  us  eow-peas  instead,  and  the  first  issue  was  only  a  quart 
to  a  detachment  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  men.  This  was 
two-thirds  of  a  pint  to  each  squad  of  ninety,  and  made  but  a 
few  spoonfuls  for  each  of  the  four  messes  in  the  squad.  When 
ii  came  to  dividing  among  the  men.  the  beans  had  to  be  counted. 
Nobody  received  enough  to  pay  for  cooking,  and  we  were  at  a 
Loss  what  i"  do  until  somebody  suggested  that  we  play  poker  for 
them.  This  met  general  acceptance,  and  after  that,  as  long  as 
beans  were  drawn,  a  Large  portion  of  the  day  was  spent  in  ab- 
sorbing games  of  bluff  and  draw,  a1  a  bean  ante,  and  qo  limit. 

After  a  number  of  hours  of  diligent  playing,  &ome  Lucky  or 
skillful  player  would  be  in  possession  of  all  the  beans  in  a  mess 
or  a  squad     sometimes  a  detachment — and  have  enough  for  a 
I    meal. 

Next,  the  meal  began  to  diminish  in  quantity  and  deterioriate 
in  quality.  Ii  became  so  exceedingly  coarse  that  the  common 
remark  was  thai  the  next  step  would  be  to  bring  us  the  coin  in 
the  shock  and  feed  it  to  us  like  stock.  Then  meat  followed 
suit  with  the  rest.  Tim  ration  decreased  in  size,  and  the  number 
of  days  that  we  did  not  gel  any  kept  constantly  increasing  in 
proportion  to  the  days  that  we  did,  until  eventually  the  meat 
hade  lis  a  final  adieu,  and  joined  the  sweet  potato  in  that  undis- 
covered country  from  whose  bourn  no  ration  ever  returned. 
The  fuel  and  building  material  in  the  stockade  were  speedily 
exhausted.  The  later  comers  had  nothing  whatever  with  which 
to  build  shelter. 

But  after  tin-  spring  rains  had  fairly  Eel  in,  ii  seemed  that 
we  had  not  tasted  misery  until  then.  About  the  middle  of 
March  the  windows  of  heaven  opened  and  it  began  to  rain  Like 
thai  of  the  time  of  Noah.  Ii  was  tropical  in  quantity  and  per- 
sistency, and  arctic  in  temperature.  For  dreary  hours  thai 
never  ending  rain  Lengthened  into  weeks,  the  driving,  drenching 
flood  pouring  down  upon  the  sodden  earth,  searching  the  very 
marrow  of  the  five  thousand  hapless  men  against  whose  chilled 


Kl.l'olM    OF    A.NDERSONVILLE    MoNI    \M..\T    COMMISSION 

frames  il  beal  with  pitiless  monotony,  and  soaking  the  sand 
bank  upon  which  we  lay  until  i1  was  Like  a  sponge  filled  with 
ice-water,  h  seems  to  me  now  thai  ii  mus1  have  been  two  or 
three  weeks  thai  the  sun  was  wholly  hidden  behind  the  dripping 
clouds,  nol  shining  Mil  once  in  all  thai  time.  The  intervals 
when  ii  did  uo1  rain  were  rare  and  short.  An  hour's  respite 
would  be  followed  by  a  day  of  steady,  regular  pelting  of  I  e 
greal  rain  drops.  W<  lit  si  comers,  who  had  hut?',  were  meas- 
urably better  off  than  the  later  arrivals.  It  was  much  drier  in 
our  leaf-thatched  tents,  and  we  were  spared  much  of  the  annoy- 
ance thai  conies  from  steady  rain  against  the  body  for  hours. 

1  find  that  the  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute  gives  the 
average  rainfall  in  the  section  around  Andersonville,  at  fifty- 
six  inches — nearly  five  feet — while  that  of  foggy  England  is 
only  thirty-two.  Our  experience  would  lead  me  to  think  that 
we  got  the  live  feet  all  at  once. 

The  condition  of  those  who  had  no  tents  was  truly  pitable. 
They  sat  or  lay  on  the  hill-side  the  livelong  day  and  aight,  and 
look  the  washing  flow  with  such  gloomy  composure  as  they  could 
muster.  All  soldiers  will  agree  with  me  thai  there  is  no  cam- 
paigning hardship  comparable  to  a  cold  rain.  One  can  brace 
up  against  the  extremes  of  heal  and  cold  and  mitigate  their  in- 
clemency in  various  ways,  but  there  is  no  escaping  a  long  con- 
tinued, chilling  rain.  .It  seems  to  penetrate  to  the  heart,  and 
leach  away  the  vital  force. 

The  only  relief  attainable  was  found  in  huddling  over  little, 
lire--  kepi  alive  by  small  groups  with  their  slender  slocks  of  wood. 
As  this  wood  was  all  pitch-pine,  thai  burned  with  ;i  very  sooly 
flame,  the  effeel  upon  the  appearance  of  the  hoverers  was  statt- 
ling.  Face,  neck  and  hands  I  ecame  covered  with  mixture  of 
lamp-black  and  turpentine,  forming  a  coating  as  thick  as  heavy 
brown  paper,  and  absolutely  irremovable  by  water  alone.  The 
hair  also  became  of  midnight  blackness,  and  gummed  up  into 
elf  locks  of  fantastic  shape  ami  effect.  Any  one  of  us  could 
have  gone  on  the  negro  and  minstrel  stage  without  changing 
a  hair,  and  put  to  blush  the  mosl  elaborate  make-up  of  the  gro- 
tesque  burnt-cork   artists. 

Xo  wood  was  issued  to  us.  The  only  way  of  getting  il  was 
to  stand  around  Hie  gate  for  limits  until  a  guard  off  duty  could 
he  coaxed  or  lured  to  accompany  a  small  party  to  the  woods  to 


\  STom   oj    Sot  tiiikw    Prisons  i(|< 

bring  back  a  load  of  such  knots  and  limbs  as  could  be  picked  up. 
Our  chief  persuaders  to  the  guards  to  do  us  this  favor  were 
rings,  pencils,  knives,  comix?,  and  such  trifles  as  we  tnighl  have 
in  our  pockets,  and,  more  especially,  the  brass  buttons  on  our 
uniforms  Rebel  Boldiers,  like  Indians,  negroes  and  other  im- 
fectly  civilized  people,  were  passionately  fond  of  brighl  and 
gaudy  things.  A  handful  of  brass  buttons  would  catch  every 
nil.-  of  them  as  swiftly  and  as  surely  as  a  piece  of  red  flannel 
will  a  gudgeon.  Our  regular  fee  for  an  escort  for  three  of  us 
to  the  woods  was  -i\  overcoal  or  dress  coal  buttons,  or  ten  <>r 
twelve  jackel  buttons.  All  in  the  mess  contributed  l<»  this  fund, 
and  the  fuel  obtained  was  carefully  guarded  and  husbanded. 

This  manner  of  conducting  the  w I  business  is  a  fair  sampii 

i»i"  the  management,  <>r  rather  the  lack  of  it  <>f  every  other  de- 
tail  of  prison  administration.     All  the   hardships  we  suffered 
from  lack  of  fuel  and  shelter  could  have  been  prevented  with 
out  the  slightest  expense  or  trouble  to  the  Confederacy. 

There  were  two  i* < ' u i 1 1 1 < •  1 1 1 s  guarding  us  the  Twenty-sixth 
Alabama  and  the  Fifty-fifth  Georgia.  Never  were  two  regi 
incuts  of  the  same  army  more  different.  The  Alabamians  were 
the  superiors  of  the  Georgians  in  every  way  thai  one  set  of 
men  could  he  superior  to  another.  They  were  manly,  soldierly, 
ami  honorable,  where  the  Georgians  were  treacherous  and  bru- 
tal. We  had  nothing  to  complain  of  at  the  hands  of  the  Ala 
hamians:  we  suffered  from  the  Georgians  everything  that  mean. 
spirited  cruelty  could  devise.  The  Georgians  were  always  on 
the  look-out  for  BOmething  that  they  could  torture  into  such 
apparent   violation  of  orders,  as  would  justify  them  in  shooting 

men  down  ;  the  Alabamians  never  fired  until  they  were  satisfied 
that  a  deliberate  offense  was  intended.  I  can  recall  that  ! 
myself  saw  ai  least  a  dozen  instances  where  men  of  the  Fifty- 
fifth  Georgia  killed  prisoners  under  the  pretense  that  they 
were  across  the  dead  line,  when  the  victims  were  a  yard  or 
more  from  it.  and  had  not  tie-  remotest  idea  of  going  nearer. 
The  only  man  I  aver  knew  to  l><  killed  by  one  of  the  Twenty- 
sixth  Alabama  was  named  Hubbard,  from  Chicago,  Illinois,  a 
member  of  the  Thirty-eighth  Illinois.  He  had  lost  one  leg  and 
went  hobbling  about  the  camp  <>n  crutches,  chattering  continu 
ally  in  a  loud,  discordant  voice,  saying  all  manner  of  hateful 
and  discordant   things  wherever  he  saw   an  opportunity.     This 


L08      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

and  his  beak-like  nose  gained  tor  him  the  name  of  "Poll  Par 
rot."  His  misfortune  caused  him  to  be  tolerated  where  another 
man  would  have  been  suppressed.  By-and-by  he  gave  still 
greater  cause  for  offense  by  his  obsequious  attempl  to  curry  Ea- 
vor  with  Captain  Wirz,  who  look  him  outside  several  times  for 
purposes  thai  were  not  well  explained.  Finally,  some  hours 
after  one  of  Poll  Parrot's  visits  outside,  a  rebel  officer  came 
in  with  a  guard  and,  proceeding  with  suspicious  directness  to 
a  lent  which  was  at  the  mouth  of  a  large  tunnel  that  a  hundred 
men  or  more  had  been  quietly  pushing  forward,  broke  the 
tunnel  in  and  took  the  occupants  of  the  lent  outside  for  pun- 
ishment. The  question  that  demanded  immediate  solution  was: 
"Who  is  the  traitor  who  has  informed  the  rebels  .''"  Suspicion 
pointed  very  strongly  to  Poll  Parrot.  By  the  next  morning  the 
evidence  collected  seemed  to  amount  to  a  certainty,  and  a 
crowd  caught  the  Parrot  with  the  intention  of  lynching  him. 
He  succeeded  in  breaking  away  from  them  and  ran  under  the 
dead  line,  near  where  I  was  sitting  in  my  dugout.  At  first  it 
looked  as  if  he  had  done;  this  to  secure  the  protection  of  the 
guard.  The  latter — a  Twenty-sixth  Alabamian — ordered  him 
out.  Poll  Parrot  rose  up  on  his  one  leg,  put  his  back  against 
the  dead  line,  faced  the  guard,  and  said  in  his  harsh,  cackling 
voice:  "No,  I  won't  go  out.  If  I've  lost  the  confidence  of  my 
comrades  I  wrant  to  die." 

Part  of  the  crowd  were  taken  aback  by  this  move,  and  fell 
disposed  to  accept  it  as  demonstration  of  the  Parrot's  inno 
cence.  The  rest  thought  it  Avas  a  piece  of  bravado  because  <>!' 
his  belief  that  the  rebels  would  not  injure  him  after  he  had 
served  them.  They  renewed  their  yells,  and  the  guard  again 
ordered  the  Parrot  out,  but  the  latter,  tearing  open  his  blouse, 
cackled  out:  k'No,  I  won't  go:  lire  at  me.  guard.  There's  niv 
heart  ;  shoot  me  right  there." 

There  Avas  no  help  for  it.  The  rebel  leveled  his  gun  and 
fired.  The  charge  struck  the  Parrot's  lower  jaw  and  carried 
il  completely  away,  leaving  his  tongue  and  the  roof  of  his 
mouth  exposed.  As  he  was  carried  back  to  die,  he  wagged  his 
tongue  vigorously  in  attempting  to  speak  but  it  was  of  no  use. 
The  guard  set  his  gun  down  and  buried  his  face  in  his  hands. 
It  Avas  the  only  time  that  I  saw  a  sentinel  show  anything  but 
exultal  ion  at  killing  a  Yankee. 


\   S roRi   01    Soi  i  in  w\    Prisons  LOO 

A  ludicrous  contrasl  to  this  lucident  took  place  a  few  nights 
later.  The  rains  had  ceased,  the  weather  had  become  wanner, 
and.  our  spirits  rising  with  this  increase  in  the  comforl  of  our 
surroundings,  a  Dumber  of  us  were  sitting  around  "  Nosey," 
a  boy  with  a  superb  tenor  voice,  who  was  singing  patriotic 
songs.  We  were  coming  in  strong  on  the  chorus,  and  in  a  wax- 
that  spoke  vastly  more  fin'  our  enthusiasm  for  the  Union  than 
for  our  musical  knowledge.  "Nosey"  sang  tin'  Star  Spangled 
Banner,  The  Battle  Cry  <>f  Freedom,  Brave  Boys  Arc  They,  cap- 
itally, and  we  threw  our  whole  Lungs  into  the  chorus.  It  was 
quite  dark,  and.  while  our  noise  was  going  on.  the  guards 
changed,  new  men  coming  on  duty.  Suddenly,  bang!  went  the 
gun  of  the  new  guard  in  the  l>ox  aboul  fifty  feet  away  from 
us.  We  knew  it  was  a  Fifty-fifth  Georgian,  and  supposed  that. 
irritated  at  our  singing,  he  was  trying  to  kill  some  of  us  for 
spite.  At  tin-  sound  of  the  gun  we  jumped  up  and  scattered. 
As  no  one  gave  the  usual  agonized  yell  of  a  prisoner  when  shot. 
we  supposed  the  ball  had  not  taken  effect.  We  could  hear  the 
sentinel  ramming  down  another  cartridge,  and  then  hear  him 
return  rammer  and  cock  his  rifle.  Again  the  gun  cracked,  and 
again  there  was  no  sound  of  anybody  being  hit.  Again  we 
could  hear  the  sentry  churning  down  another  cartridge.  The 
drums  began  beating  the  long  roll  in  the  camp,  and  the  officers 
could  he  heard  turning  the  men  out.  The  matter  was  becoming 
exciting,  and  one  of  us  sang  out  to  the  guard: 

S   a   v.      What   the  are  you  shooting  at.  anyhow 

•'rm  a  shootin'  at   that Yank  thar,  by  the  dead 

line,  and  by  -      -  if  you'uns  don't   take  him   in  I'll  blow  the 
whole  head  ofV'n  him." 

"Whal    Yank  !     Where's   any    Yank 

'Why.  thar — righl  thar — a  standin'  agin  the  dead  line." 

"Why.   you   rebel    fool,   that's  a   chunk   of  wood.      You 

'•an'i  gel  any  furlough  for  shooting  that." 

At   this  time  there  was  a  general  roar  from  the  rest  of  the 

camp,  which  the  other  guards  took-  up.  and.  as  the  Reserves  came 

double-quicking  up  and  learned  the  occasion  of  the  alarm,  they 

■  tin-  rascal  who  had  been  bo  anxious  to  kill  somebody  a  tor- 

renl  of  abuse  for  having  disturbed  them. 

A  pait  of  our  crowd  had  been  out  after  wood  during  the  day, 
and  secured  ;i  piece  of  ;i  lo'_r  as  large  as  t  wo  of  them  could  carry, 


IK)      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 

and,  bringing  il  in,  stood  i1  up  near  the  dea  I  l i r i« -.  When  the 
guard  had  mounted  to  his  posl  he  was  sine  he  saw  a  ferocious 
Yankee  in  fronl  of  him,  and  so  hastened  to  slay  him,  II  was  an 
unusual  good  fortune  thai  uobody  was  struck.  II  was  vcy 
pare  that  the  guards  fired  into  the  prison  without  hitting  at  least 
one  person.  The  Georgia  Reserves  who  formed  our  guards  later 
in  the  season,  were  armed  wilh  an  ok]  gun  called  a  Queen  Anne 

musket,  altered  for  the  use  of  percussion  caps.  Il  carried  a 
bullet  as  big  as  a  large  marble,  and  three  or  four  buckshot. 
When  fired  into  a  group  of  men  it  was  sure  lo  bring  several 
down. 

I  was  standing  one  day  in  the  line  at  the  gate  waiting  for  a 
chance  to  go  after  wood.  A  Fifty-fifth  Georgian  was  the  gate 
una  id  and  he  drew  a  line  in  the  sand  with  his  bayonet  which  we 
should  not  cross.  The  crowd  behind  pushed  one  man  till  he 
pu1  his  foot  a  few  inches  over  the  line,  to  save  himself  from 
falling:  the  guard  sank  a  bayonet  through  the  foot  as  quick  as 
a  flash. 

The  negro  soldiers  also  were  treated  as  badly  as  possible.  The 
wounded  were  turned  into  the  Stockade  without  having  their 
hurts  attended  to.  One  stalwart,  soldierly  sergeant  had  re- 
ceived a  bullet  which  had  forced  its  way  under  the  scalp  for 
some  distance  and  partially  imbedded  itself  in  the  skull,  where 
il  still  remained.  He  suffered  intense  agony,  and  would  pass 
the  whole  night  walking  up  and  down  the  street  in  front  of  our 
teni  moaning  distressingly.  Tin  bullet  could  be  fell  plainly 
with  the  fingers,  and  we  were  sure  that  it  would  not  take  a 
minute,  with  a  sharp  knife,  lo  remove  it  and  give  the  man  re- 
lief. But  we  eould  not  prevail  upon  the  "Rebel  surgeons  even  to 
see  the  man.     Finally  inflammation  set  in,  and  he  died. 

The  negroes  were  made  into  a  squad  by  themselves,  and  taken 
ou1  every  day  to  work  around  the  prison.  A  while  sergeant  was 
placed  over  them,  who  was  the  object  of  the  contumely  of  the 
guards  and  other  Rebels.  One  day  as  he  was  standing  near 
the  gate,  waiting  his  orders  to  come  out,  the  gate  guard.  with- 
oul  any  provocation  whatever,  dropped  his  gun  until  the  muzzle 
rested  againsl  the  sergeanl  's  stomach  and  1  hen  fired,  killing  him 
instantly.  This  sergeant's  position  was  then  offered  to  me,  but 
as  I  had  no  accidenl  policy.  I  was  constrained  to  decline  the 
honor. 


A  Stori   "i    Soi  rHERN    Prisons  1 1 1 

li  new  became  ;i  pari  of  the  day's  regular  routine  with  us 
1 1>  take  ;'  v  alk  |  ;is,  ihe  gates  in  the  morning,  inspeel  and  coiinl 
the  dead,  and  see  i1'  any  <d"  our  Trie, ids  were  among  tli  m. 
Clothes  having  by  this  time  become  a  very  importanl  considera- 
tion with  the  pi  -  3,  as  the  custom  of  the  mess  in  which 
n  man  clv<l  to  remove  from  his  person  all  garments  thai  were  of 
;ii\  account,  and  thus  bodies  were  carried  oul  nearly  naked. 
The  hands  were  crossed  upon  the  breast,  the  big  toe^  tied  lo- 
'tilici-  with  ,-i  In;  (i  string,  and  \  slip  of  paper  containing  the 
man's  name,  rank,  company  and  regimenl  was  pinned  on  the 
s1   of  his  shirt. 

The  appearai of  the  dead  was  inde  cribably  ghastly.     The 

unclosed  eyes  shone  with  a  stony  glitter. 

An  orphan's  curse  would  drag  to  he!] 

A   sph  il    Prom  on  high  ; 

But,  I ) '.  more  tei  rible  than  that, 

Fs  i  he  curs  ■  in  a  dead  man 's  eye. 
Tin-  lips  ;ind  nostrils  were  distorted  with  pnin  and  hunger,  the 
shallow,  dirt-grimed  skin  drawn  tensely  over  the  facial  bones, 
and  the  whole  was  frame  I  <  ver  with  long  matted  hair  and  beard. 
Millions  of  lice  swarmed  over  the  wa«ted  limits  and  ridged  ribs. 
These  verminous  pests  had  become  so  numerous-  owing  to  mi; 
lack  of  changes  of  clothing,  and  of  facilities  for  h<  iling  whal 
we  had,— thai  the  mosl  a  healthy  man  could  do  was  to  keep 
the  number  feeding  upon  hi  person  down  to  a  reasonable  limil  — 
'  lespoonfuls.  When  a  man  became  so  sick  as  to  be 
unable  to  help  himself,  the  parasites  speedily  increased  into 
millions,  or  to  speak  more  comprehensively,  into  pints  and 
quarts.  It  did  no1  even  seem  an  exaggeration  when  some  one 
d(  'lared  thai  he  had  seen  a  dead  man  with  more  than  ;i  gallon 
of  li'-.-  <>n  him. 

There  is  no  doubl  bul  thai  the  irritation  from  the  biting  of 
these  myriads  of  insects  Fhortened  very  materially  the  days  of 
tho.e  who  were  sick.  Where  a  sick  man  had  friends  or  eon1 
rades,  il  was,  of  course,  pari  of  their  duty,  in  taking  care  of 
him,  to  louse  his  clothing.  One  of  the  mosl  effectual  ways  of 
doing  this  was  to  turn  the  garments  wt<  ng  side  mil  and  hold  the 
ri3  as  close  to  the  fire  as  possible  without  burning  the  doth. 
~  hit  time  the  li'-"  would  swell  up  and  bursl  open,  like  pop- 
corn.    This  method  was  a  favorite  one  for  another  reason  Hum 


112      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 

ils  efficacy:  It  gave  one  a  kernel  sense  of  revenge  upon  his 
rascally  Little  tormentors  than  lie  could  gel  in  any  oilier  way. 

A.s  the  weather  grew  warmer  and  the  number  in  the  prison 
increased  the  lice  became  more  unendurable.  They  filled  the  ho1 
sand  under  our  Peel  and  voracious  troops  of  them  would  climb 
up  one's  legs  like  streams  of  ants  swarming  up  a  tree.  We  be- 
gan to  have  a  full  comprehension  of  the  third  plague  with  which 
the  Lord  visited  the  Egyptians : 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  IVIoses,  say  unto  Aaron,  stretch  ou1 
thy  rod,  and  smite  the  dust  of  the  land,  thai  it  may  become  lice 
through  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

"And  they  did  so;  for  Aaron  stretched  out  his  hand  with  hit 
rod,  and  smote  the  dust  of  the  earth  and  it  became  lice  in  man 
and  in  beast.  All  the  dust  of  the  land  became  lice  throughout 
all  the  land  of  Egypt." 

Barrett's  [nsane  Cruelty. 

Winder  had  found  in  Barrett  even  a  better  tool  for  his  cruel 
purposes  than  Wirz.  The  two  resembled  each  other  in  many 
respects.  Both  were  absolutely  destitute  of  any  talent  for  com- 
manding  men.  ami  could  no  more  handle  even  one  thousand 
men  properly  than  a  cabin  boy  could  navigate  a  great  ocean 
steamer.  Both  were  given  to  'lie  same  senseless  fits  of  insane 
rage,  coming  and  going  withoul  apparent  reason,  during  which 
they  fired  revolvers  and  guns  or  threw  clubs  into  crowds  of  pris- 
oners, or  knocked  down  such  as  were  within  reach  of  their  lists. 
These  exhibitions  were  such  as  an  overgrown  child  might  be  ex- 
pected to  make.  They  did  not  secure  any  result  except  to  in- 
crease the  prisoners'  wonder  that  such  ill-tempered  fools  could 
lie  given  any  position  of  responsibility. 

A  short  lime  previous  to  our  entry  Barrett  thought  he  had 
reason  to  suspect  a  tunnel.  He  immediately  announced  that  no 
more  rations  should  be  issued  until  its  whereabouts  were  re- 
vealed, and  the  ringleaders  in  the  attempt  to  escape  delivered 
up  to  him.  The  rations  at  that  time  were  very  scanty,  so  that 
the  first  day  they  were  cut  off  the  sufferings  were  fearful.  The 
boys  thought  Barrett  would  surely  relent  the  next  day,  but  they 
did  not  know  their  man.  Me  was  not  suffering  any,  and  why 
Bhould  he  relax  his  severity?  He  strolled  leisurely  out  from 
his  dinner  table,  picking  his  teeth  with  his  penknife  in  the  com 


,\  Story  of  Soi  thern    Prisons  1 1  1 

Portable,  self-satisfied  way  of  .1  coarse  man  who  lias  just  filled 
his  stomach  t<>  his  entire  content,  an  attitude  and  an  air  thai 
was  simply  maddening  to  the  famishing  wretches  of  whom  he 
inquired  tantalizingly  : 

'■  Aii*  ye'ro  hungry  enough  to  give  up  them  (J — d  d — d  s  s  of 
b— hesyet  I" 

That  night  thirteen  thousand  men, — crazy,  fainting  with 
hunger,  having  walked  hither  and  thither  until  exhaustion  had 
forced  then  to  become  quiet,  sat  on  the  ground  and  pressed  their 
bowels  in  by  leaning  against  stieks  ot*  wood  laid  across  their 
thighs;  trooped  to  the  creek  and  drank  water  until  their  gorges 
rose  and  they  could  swallow  no  more— did  everything,  in  Fact, 
that  imagination  could  suggest,-  -to  assuage  the  pangs  of  the 
dly  gnawing  that  was  consuming  their  vitals.  All  the 
cruelties  of  the  terrible  Spanish  [nquisition,  if  heaped  together, 
would  not  sum  up  a  greater  aggregate  of  anguish  than  was  en- 
dured by  them.  The  third  day  came,  and  still  no  signs  of  yield- 
ing by  Barrett.  The  sergeants  counseled  together.  Something 
must  ho  done.  The  fellow  would  starve  the  whole  camp  to  death 
with  js  little  compunction  as  one  drowns  blind  puppies.  It  was 
tssary  t<>  get  up  a  tunnel  to  show  Barrett,  and  to  get  boys 
who  would  confess  to  being  leaders  in  the  work.  A  number  of 
gallant  fellows  volunteered  to  brave  the  wrath  of  this  man  and 
s1  of  their  comrades.  It  required  high  courage  to  do 
this,  as  tlicr.-  was  no  question  hut  that  the  punishment  meted  out 
would  be  as  fearful  as  the  cruel  mind  of  the  fellow  conld  con- 
The  sergeants  decided  that  four  would  he  sufficient  to 
answer  tin  purpose;  they  selected  these  by  lot.  marshed  them  to 
the  gate  and  delivered  them  over  to  Barret,  who  thereupon  or- 
dered the  rations  to  be  sent  in.  Tie  was  considerate  enough,  too, 
to  feed  th<-  men  he  was  going  to  torture. 

The  starving  men  in  the  Btockade  could  not  wait,  after  the 
rations  were  issued,  to  cook  them,  bul  in  many  instances  mixed 
the  meal  up  with  water,  and  swallowed  it  raw.  Frequently 
their  stomachs,  irritated  by  the  long  fast,  rejected  the  mess;  and 
very  many  had  reached  the  stage  when  they  loathed  food.  A 
burning  fever  was  c<»nsiiminLr  them  and  Beething  their  brains 
with  delirium.  Hundreds  died  within  a  few  days,  and  hundred** 
mere  were  bo  debilitated  by  the  terrible  strain  that  they  did  ml 
linger  l<»nLr  afterward. 


Ill      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission' 

The  brave  follows  who  had  offered  themselves  as  a  sacrifi  -e 
for  Hit1  rest  were  pul  into  a  guard  house  and  kept  over  night, 
thai  Barretl  mighl  make  a  day  of  Hie  amusement  of  torturing 
them.  After  he  had  laid  in  a  hearty  breakfast,  mid  doubtless 
fortified  himself  with  some  of  the  villainous  sorghum  whiskey 
which  the  Rebels  were  now  reduced  to  drinking,  lie  set  out 
aboul  his  entertainment.  The  devoted  four  were  brought  out, 
one  by  one.  and  their  hands  tied  together  behind  their  backs. 
Then  a  noose  of  slender,  strong  hemp  rope  was  slipped  over 
the  first  one's  thumbs  and  drawn  light,  after  which  the  rope 
was  thrown  over  a  log  projecting  from  the  roof  of  the  guard 
house,  and  two  or  three  "Rebels  hauled  upon  it  until  the  miser- 
able Yankee  was  lifted  from  the  ground,  and  hung  suspended 
by  the  thumbs  while  his  weight  seemed  tearing  his  limbs  from  his 
shoulder  blades.  The  other  three  were  treated  in  the  same 
manner. 

The  agony  of  this  treatment  was  simply  excruciating.  The 
boys  were  brave,  and  had  resolved  to  stand  their  punishment 
without  a  groan,  but  this  was  too  much  for  human  endurance. 
Their  will  was  stroiiff,  yet  Nature  could  not  he  denied,  p^d  fh^v 
shrieked  aloud  so  pitifully  that  a  yonng  Reserve  standing  near 
fainted.  Every  one  screamed:  "For  God's  sake,  kill  me.  kill 
me!     Shoot  me  if  you  want  to,  but  let  me  down  from  here.'' 

The  only  effect  of  this  plea  upon  Barrett  was  to  light  up  his 
brutal  face  with  a  leer  of  fiendish  satisfaction.  He  said  to  the 
guards  with  a  gleeful  wink: 

"By  G — d,  I'll  learn  these  Yanks  to  be  more  afraid  of  me 
than  of  the  old  devil  himself.  They'll  soon  understand  that  I'm 
n«)1  the  man  to  fool  with.  I'm  old  pizen,  I  am.  when  T  git 
started.  Jest  hear  'em  squeal,  won't  yer?"  Then  walking 
from  one  prisoner  to  another,  he  said: 

''!)  n  yer  skins,  3re '11  dig  tunnels,  will  ye?  Veil  try  to  gel 
out.  and  run  through  the  country  stealin'  and  carryin'  off  nig- 
gers and  makin'  more  trouble  than  yer  d — d  neck's  are  worth. 
I'll  learn  ye  aboul  that.  If  I  ketch  ye  at  this  sort  of  work 
again,  d     d  el'  I  don't  kill  ye  as  soon  ez  1  ketch  ye." 

!  had  been  in  prison  bnl  a  little  while  when  a  voice  called  out 
fn  in  ;i  hole  in  the  ground,  as  I  was  passing: 

* "S  a  y,  sergeant,  won'1  you  please  take  these  shears  and 
cut   my  toes  off?" 


A  St< >ri   of  & ii  i  in  i;\    Prison  1 1"> 

* ■  What  .'"  said  I.  in  amazement,  stopping  in  front  of  the  dug- 
out. 

".Inst    take    these   shears,    won't    von,   and    eiit    my    toes   off," 

answered  the  inmate,  an  Indiana  infantryman— holding  up  a 
pair  of  dull  shears  in  his  hand,  and  elevating  one  foot  for  me 
to  look  at. 

I   examined  the  Latter  carefully.     All  the  flesh  of  the  toes, 

except   little  padfl  at   the  ends,  had  rotted  off,  leaving  the  hones 

as  .lean  as  if  scraped.     The  little  tendons  still  remained,  and 

held  the  hnnes  to  their  places,  !>nt  this  seemed  to  hurt  the  rest 
of  the  feet  and  annoy  the  man. 

"You'd    letter    let    one    of   the    rehel    doctors    Bee    Ihis."    I    said, 

after  finishing  my  survey,  "before  yon  conclude  to  have  them 
off.     Maybe  I  hey  can  be  saved." 

• '  No.  ii d  if  1  'in  going  to  have  any  of  them  rebel  butchers 

fooling  around  mo.  I'd  die  first,  and  then  I  wouldn't,"  was 
the  reply.  "Von  can  do  ii  better  than  they  can.  It's  just  a 
little  snip.     .Inst  try  it." 

"I  don't  like  to,"  1  replied.  "I  might  lame  you  for  life  and 
make  yon  lots  of  trouble." 

"().  bother.  What  business  is  that  of  yours?  They're  my 
-  and  I  want  them  off.  They  hurt  me  so  I  can't  sleep. 
Come.  now.  take  the  shears  and  cut  them  off." 

I  yielded,  and  taking  the  shears,  snipped  one  tendon  after 
another  close  to  the  feet,  and  in  a  few  seconds  had  the  whole 
ten  toes  lying  in  a  heap  at  the  bottom  of  the  dugout.  I  picked 
them  up  and  handed  them  to  their  owner,  who  gazed  at  them 
Complacently  and  remarked  : 

'Well.  I 'in  durned  glad  they're  off.  T  won't  be  bothered 
with  corns  any  more.  I  flatter  myself." 


in;      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 


CHAPTER   VII. 

CONGRESS  ORDERS   INVESTIGATION  OF  TREATMENT 
OK  UNION  PRISONERS  OF  WAR. 

The  Fortieth  Congress  during  its  firsl  session,  on  July  10, 
1867,  passed  the  following  resolution,  introduced  by  Mr.  Shanks 
of  Indiana: 

Whereas,  It  is  expedient  that  the  subject  of  Hie  treatment 
of  prisoners  of  war  and  Union  citizens  held  by  the  Confederate 
authorities  during  the  recent  rebellion  should  1)0  thoroughly 
investigated,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  a  special  committee  of  five  members  of  this 
House  be  appointed  to  make  such  investigation,  to  record  the 
facts  thereby  obtained  and  to  report  the  same  to  the  House  at 
any  time,  with  such  recommendations  as  they  may  deem 
proper,  and  be  it  further 

Kesolved,  That  such  committee   for  the  purpose  of  this  in- 
vestigation shall  have  power  to  send  for  persons  and  papers, 
to  appoint   a   clerk   and  stenographer  and  to  sit   during  any 
recess  of  the  House,  and  that  the  expenses  of  the  investigation 
be  paid  from  t  he  contingent  fund  of  the  House. 
It  was  ordered  that  said  committee  consist  of: 
Mr.  John  P.  C.  Shanks  of  Indiana. 
Mr.  Wm.  A.  Pile  of  Missouri. 
.Mr.  Abner  C.  Harding  of  Illinois. 
Mr.  Aaron  F.  Stevens  of  New  Hampshire. 
Mr.   Wm.   Mimueii  of  Ohio. 

Attest:  Edward  McPherson, 

Clerk. 
On  .Inly  13,  1867,  Congress,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Pile,  adopted 
the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  Thai  the  select  committee  to  investigate  the  treat- 
ment of  prisoners  of  war  and  the  Union  citizens  <>F  the  so-called 
Confederate  government,  are  hereby  authorized  to  sit  at  such 


A<  r  of   Congress    Authorizing    Investigation         11 


place  and  take  testimony  by  such  Dumber  of  committee  as  they 
shall  deem  proper. 
Attesl  : 

I']d\\  \ivM)  McPherson, 

Clerk. 
'Hit1  power  of  the  committee  was  still    further  extended   by 
resolul  ions : 
January  13,  1868,  July  28,  1868,  and  February  6,  1869. 


lis      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 


CHAPTER  V11I. 

EXTRACTS    FROM    REPORT    OF    CONGRESSIONAL 
INVESTIGATING  COMMITTEE. 

We  now  deem  it  proper  to  quote  paragraphs  from  the  report 
of  this  committee  and  portions  of  testimony  of  others.  These 
can  be  verified  by  the  official  reports,  as  the  authority  conferred 
on  the  commission  permits  us  to  print  matters  of  interest,  as 
Follows: 

From  Belle  Isle,  Libby,  Salisbury  and  other  minor  prisons 
came  Union  soldiers  to  Andersonville  to  be  crowded  into  this 
pen  until  the  number  reached  nearly  thirty-five  thousand,  each 
prisoner  having  an  allotted  space  of  about  four  feet  square  in 
which  to  eat,  walk  and  sleep.  The  suffering  which  ensued  can- 
not be  described.  The  sick  and  wounded  all  herded  in  to- 
gether, the  stench  from  the  swamp  at  night,  all  added  to  the 
nauseousness  of  it  all. 

No  pen  can  describe,  no  artist  depict,  no  imagination  com- 
prehend the  squalor,  suffering  and  awfulness  of  it.  It  would 
seem  as  if  the  concentrated  madness  of  earth  and  hell  found 
its  final  lodgment  in  the  breasts  of  those  who  inaugurated  the 
rebellion  and  controlled  the  policy  of  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment. 

The  first  consignment  of  prisoners  reached  the  place  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1864,  and  were  put  under  the  command  of  J.  II. 
Winder,  the  man  who  had  attained  such  notoriety  for  brutality 
in  the  prisons  at  Richmond.  There  is  ample  evidence  that  the 
president  of  the  Confederacy  was  Winder's  intimate  friend  and 
protector.  When  his  crimes  had  driven  others  to  protest 
against  his  retention  in  the  service  of  the  Confederacy,  the  in- 
fluence of  Davis  saved  him  from  removal  and  disgrace.  The 
relation  which  this  man  bore  to  the  chief  and  head  of  the  re- 


LACTS    i  BOM     I  k)NGRESSION  \i.    EtEPORI  1  L9 

bellion  Is  well  described  by  a  witness,  Philip  Cashnieyer,  who 
in  the  employ  of  the  Confederate  government. 

r  the  i ms i  lour  \<ais  i  was  detective  officer  under  Genera]  Winder. 
l  was  with  him  from  the  time  in-  commenced  bis  duties  as  Provosl 
Marshal  until  he  died,  l  was  his  BpeciaJ  confidential  detective.  My 
duties  were  Important,  Bucfa  as  detectives  have  to  attend  to.     Mj   Berv- 

to  him  were  such  as  examining  prisoners,  making  reports  on  them, 
and   matters  of  that  sort.     1  was  admitted   Into  his  family  circle.    Th 
relations  existing  between  him  and  Jefferson  Davis  were  very  friendly; 
Indeed,  very  confidential,  as   l  often  heard  him    sa>   bo.     i  often  saw 
him  go  and  come  from  .Mr.  Davis'  office. 

••1  remember  when  an  effort  was  made  by  Generals  Bragg  and  Kan 
Bom  to  have  him  [Winder]  removed,  President  Davis  was  his  special 
ttiend.  Then  when  the  order  came  relieving  General  Winder  from  the 
War  Department,    he  took  it   to  Mr.   Davis  and  it   was  endorsed  by  him. 

•11  as  1  can  recollect,  this  was  entirely  unnecessary  and  uncalled 
foT.  Alter  that  General  Winder  was  sent  to  Goldsboro  to  take  the 
held.  He  was  there  a  week  or  tWO  and  was  Hen  ordered  to  Anderson 
ville  to  take  command  there.  His  official  power  was  not  extended  for 
months  after  that.  Then  he  was  made  commissioner  general  and 
commissary  gi  ueral  Of  prisoners.  1  remained  with  him  until  he  died 
in  my  tent  at  Florence,  south  Carolina. 

-  nearly  as  1  can  remember  the  order  sending  W.  s.  Winder,  son 
Of  the  general,  to  lay  out  the  prison  came   from    the    war  department. 

ral  Winder  desired  to  send  him,  and  the  war  department  sanc- 
tioned it.  I  saw  the  son  go  with  the  general  to  the  war  department 
and  come  from  there." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  this  man's  character  or  his- 
tory at  much  length.  He  lias  passed  to  his  long-  and  last  ac- 
count, leaving  behind  him  a  name  which  can  hardly  lie  uttere  1 
l»\  tlie  lips  of  any  1'nion  prisoner  without  thoughts  of  thai  fear- 
ful retribution  which  can  alone  in  the  dread  future  furnish  an 
iate  expiation  of  his  crimes  against  mankind.  Jle  had 
been  employed  as  the  prison  agent  of  President  Davis,  and  his 
cruelties  have  become  proverbial. 

in  the  year  1864  the  temperature  at  Andersonville  ranged 
from  eighteen  to  one  hundred  and  twelve  degrees  Fahrenheit.  \/ 

There    were    108   rainy   days   counted,     (jn   the   twenty-seventh  /> 

day  of  November,  1863,  young-  Winder,  son  of  Gen.  J.  II. 
Winder,  established  the  prison  al  Andersonville,  remote  from 
habitation  and  facilities  for  providing  supplies,  there  being 
only  one  railroad.  There  was  a  locality  where  good  pure  spring 
water  would  have  been  abundanl  for  the  whole  camp  one  in 
particular,  called  Magnolia  Springs,  near  Americus.  But,  as 
rted,  they  wanted  to  build  a  pen  for  the  "damned 
Yankees"  where  they  would  rol  faster  than  they  could  be  Benl 


L20      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

\i  this  time  the  maimed  prisoners  numbered  nearly  thirty- 
Bve  thousand,  who  would  have  been  the  victims.  And  not  a 
revocation  or  ;i  protesl  against  the  execution  of  this  brutal  order 
came  Prom  his  superiors  or  the  Rebel  government.  Among  both 
Rebel  and  Union  men,  so  terrible  was  his  history  that  when  he 
left  the  theater  of  his  crimes  for  Andersonville,  the  Richmond 
Examiner  exclaimed  in  its  mingled  honor  and  joy:  "Thank  God 
thai  Richmond  is  al  last  rid  of  old  Winder.  God  have  mercy 
upon  those  (o  whom  he  has  been  sent." 

As  illustrating  the  justice  of  the  paragraph  just  quoted  from 
the  Richmond  Examiner,  we  submit  the  following  order  issued 
by  the  agent  of  starvation  and  murder  while  in  command  at 
Andersonville: 

Order  No.  13. 

Headquarters  Confederate  States  Military  Prison, 

Andersonville,  July  27,  1864. 

The  officers  on  duty  in  charge  of  the  battery  of  Florida  artil- 
lery, at  the  time,  will,  upon  receiving  notice  that  the  enemy  has 
approached  within  seven  miles  of  this  post,  open  fire  upon  the 
stockade  with  grape-shot  without  reference  to  the  situation  be- 
yond these  lines  of  defense. 

It  is  better  that  the  last  Federal  should  be  exterminated  than 
be  permitted  to  burn  and  pillage  the  property  of  loyal  citizens, 
as  they  will  do  if  they  arc  allowed  to  make  their  escape  from 
prison. 

By  order  of  John  H.  Winder,  Brigadier  General. 

W.   S.   Winder, 
Adjutant  General. 

When  General  Winder  went  to  Andersonville,  he  took  Cap- 
tain Wirz  with  him,  a  man  who  had  likewise  gained  notoriet}' 
for  his  brutality.  Wirz  was  placed  in  command  of  the  prison, 
with  Winder's  two  sons  on  his  staff.  These  men  figured  largely 
in  the  management  of  the  prison  and  were  responsible  for  the 
crimes  committed  on  the  helpless  men  confined  in  that  hell  of 

hells. 

The  stockade  was  used  for  enlisted  men  only  and,  as  soon  as 
completed,  they  gathered  the  prisoners.  With  no  covering  save 
the  open  sky,  these  men,  these  heroes  born  in  the  image  of  God, 
lay   there  crouching  and   writhing  in  their  terrible  torture, — a 


Extracts   from   Congressional   IJeport 

Loathsome,  horrible  Bight.  The  mutilated  murdered  victims  <»I 
a  cool  and  calculated  barbarity  stand  forth  in  history  as  .1 
monument  of  the  surpassing  horrors  of  Andersonville,  as  it 
shall  be  seen  and  read  of  in  all  future  time,  realizing,  in  the 
studded  tenements  of  the  prison  house,  the  idea  of  Dante's  In- 
ferno and  Milton  'a  hell. 

At  last  the  sufferings  of  those  men,  whose  only  crime  was 
that  they  had  foughl  t'<»r  their  country,  the  sympathy  of  some 
persons  living  in  thai  region,  who  seem  to  have  been  prompted 
by  humane  sentiment,  and,  moved  by  a  knowledge  of  their  con- 
dition, attempted   measures   for   the   relief  of  our  men.     They 

ordingly  made  applications  to  the  officer  in  command  for  the 
privilege  of  visiting  the  sick  in  the  hospital  and  stockade  and 
urnish  them  with  the  means  of  comfort  and  relief,  They 
were  mel  with  a  flat  refusal  and.  although  the  attempts  were 
renewed  from  time  to  time,  these  humane  offers  were  refu 
and  the  people  repulsed.  Jn  fact,  it  seems  very  clear  that  the 
refusal  was  uot  merely  capricious  but  based  upon  that  inhuman 
policy  by  which  the  Confederate  government  sought  to  decimate 
the  ranks  of  their  enemy  by  the  maltreatment  ami  starvation  of 
their  prisoners. 

And  now  let  us  see  how  the  United  states  ordered  rebel  pris- 
oners iu  our  hands  to  be  treated,  and  then  compare  it  with 
1  I       r  No.  1:;  issued  by  Winder. 

-  -lion  74"):  United  States  Army  Regulations  of  18G1, 
pages  L07-108,  provide  as  follows: 

"Prisoners  of  War  will  he  disarmed  and  scut  to  the  rear  and 
reported  as  soon  as  practicable  to  headquarters.  The  return  oi 
the  prisoners  from  the  headquarters  to  the  war  department  will 
specify  the  number,  rank  and  corps. 

-  ;tion  T1U:  The  private  property  of  prisoners  will  be 
duly  respected  and  each  Bhall  he  treated  with  regard  due  his 
rank.  They  are  to  obey  the  necessary  orders  given  them. 
They  will  receive  for  subsistence,  one  ration  each  without  re- 
_  d  to  rank',  and  their  wounds  are  to  It.-  treated  with  the  same 
care  as  the  wounded  of  our  army.  Other  allowances  to  them 
will  depend  upon  conventions  with  the  enemy.*' 

Early  in  tic  war  tie-  enemy  observed  the  idle  ceremony  of 
making  a  list  of  the  property  seized,  confessedly  for  safe  keep- 


L22      Repo&t  of  Andersonville  IVEoni  mint  Commission 

ing  and  restorations j  bul  instances  where  any  such  restoration 
was  made  are  extremely  rare.  Even  in  the  few  cases  where 
in. Miry  was  restored,  Confederate  scrip,  nearly  worthless,  was 
substituted  dollar  for  dollar  for  the  money  oi'  which  the  soldier 
had  been  robbed.  It  will  be  found  thai  this  practice  met  with 
the  severe  condemnation  of  the  inspecting  officers  oi*  the  reu.d 
prisons,  yet  their  recommendations  tor  a  change  in  its  practice 
seem  to  have  been  entirely  disregarded.  It  seems  that  after  the 
second  year  of  the  war.  even  this  formality  was  almost  entirely 
abandoned,  and  prisoners  were  not  only  robbed  of  money,  sur- 
plus clothing  and  valuables,  but  were  often  deprived  of  coats, 
shoes  and  hats,  and,  in  many  cases,  were  stripped  of  everything 
I  mi  shirt  and  drawers,  until  at  last  the  rebel  captor  came  to 
regard  his  union  victim  as  one  who  had  no  right  that  lie 
was  hound  to  respect.  The  testimony  will  be  found  replete 
with  instances  of  the  actual  truth  of  this  assertion,  showing  a 
-spirit  of  fiendish  cruelty  shorn  of  all  just  regard  for  the  rights 
of  the  living,  as  it  was  destitute  of  all  respect  for  the  person 
of  the  e'ead.  This  search  and  robbery  of  the  prisoners  was  some- 
times accompanied  by  the  most  cruel  violence.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  war  the  demand  for  the  surrender  of  valuable  arti- 
cles was  freely  complied  with,  but  after  learning,  from  the  testi- 
mony of  others,  the  failure  of  the  authorities  to  make  restora- 
tion of  the  property  which  had  been  given  up,  and  knowing  the 
importance  of  having  money  and  clothing  during  captivity, 
efforts  were  naturally  made  by  our  men  to  conceal  their  valu- 
ables before  or  after  capture.  The  detection  of  their  attempts 
to  do  this  was  constantly  followed  by  punishment  of  a  cruel, 
and  sometimes  revolting,  character.  Some  of  the  most  aggra- 
vating eases  of  beating  and  other  personal  violence,  were  in- 
flicted solely  on  account  of  this  detection.  The  ofhYeis  at  Rich- 
mond, as  shown  by  the  testimony,  became  specially  expert  by 
much  practice  in  searching  and  robbing  prisoners  and  detect- 
ing concealment.  During  the  year  of  1864.  a  system  of  search- 
ing was  in  vogue  in  all  the  prisons,  so  that  our  officers  and  men 
were  compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet  and  submit  to  the  indignity 
of  a  new  search  at  every  transfer  from  one  prison  to  another. 
The  pictures  of  wives  and  dear  ones  at  home  were  taken 
with  vulgar  epithets.  These  outrages,  so  (dearly  in  direct  vio- 
lation  of  the  laws  of  war.  and  in  turpitude  and  crime  so  nearly 


.<   rg     i  ROW     <  ONURESSION  \l,     liEl'ORl  L2  I 


akin  to  the  robbery  of  the  dead,  necessarily   increased  the  ln-lp 
eaa    iondition  of  our  soldiers,  depriving  them  of  the  means  of 
procuring  the  n<  and  comforts  which  might  otherwise 

have  been  obtainable,  thus  rendering  them  a  more  easy  pre}  to 
disease  and  death.  Short  rations  and  scarcity  of  wain-,  owing 
to  their  being  robbed  of  their  canteens,  and  transportation  fit 
only  for  beasts  destined  for  the  shambles,  were  the  common  in- 
cidents of  the  union  prisoner's  early  captivity.  These  facts 
se  the  cool  and  malicious  disregard  of  the  condition  and 
comfort  of  the  prisoners  taken  in  battle,  and  an  evident  inten- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Confederate  authority  to  Lose  no  time 
in  the  attempl  to  break  them  down  in  body  and  spirit;  and 
thus  render  them  unfit  Tor  future  service  to  their  country.  .Men 
wounded  in  the  arms  or  body  were  forced  to  make  long 
marches,  guarded  by  cavalry,  and,  when  unable  to  keep  pace 
with  the  column  any  longer,  were  beaten  and  cut  with  the  saber 
of  their  guards  until  they  fell  by  the  roadside  dead,  where  they 
were  often  left  unburied.  Prisoners  transported  by  railroad 
through  the  south  were  almost  invariably  packed  into  close  box 

rom  eighty  to  one  hundred  of  sick,  wounded  and  well  in 
one  car.  The  ears  thus  used  were  often  those  from  which 
cattle  had  been  just  taken.    They  were  never  cleansed,  and  the 

nut  of  the  beast  was  the  bed  of  the  prisoner.  Too  Pew 
guards  were  provided  on  such  occasions,  and  so  the  cars  were 
kept  closely  shut,  sometimes  for  several  days  in  succession,  the 
men  not  being  allowed  to  leave  them  for  any  purpose. 

This  deliberate  and  systematic  robbery  of  defenseless  men 
was  pursued  al  Richmond  within  sight  and  hearing  of  the  higher 
rebel  officials,  and  not  far  from  the  residence  of  Jeff  Davis. 
Sounds  of  revelry  and  carousal  at  thai  seat  of  treason  heard  by 
those  robbed,  wronged  and  outraged  prisoners  as  they  lay  m 
the  bare  floor  where  they  were  confined,  after  bring  deprived 
of  the  baresl  necessities  by  their  inhuman  captors,  made  life 
M'l'in  unbearable.     In   addition   to  thes  ral   remarks  upon 

tin-  features  and  effects  of  the  Andersonville  captivity,  the  com 
mittee  thought  proper  to  avail  themselves  of  the  inter 
publications  of  eye  witne  ses  who  were  confine  1  within  its  walls, 
giving  credit  in  all  casea  to  the  authors  of  these  vivid  yel  truth- 
ful pictures  of  prison  life. 


124      Report  of  A.ndersonville  .Mom mint  Commission 

Among  Hit-  numerous  volumes  which  have  been  published  by 
the  survivors  of  Andersonville,  there  is  one  abounding  in  a 
specially  interesting  description  of  the  conduct  of  its  inmates. 
It  was  written  by  one  who  was  for  more  than  a  year  a  prisoner 
of  war  in  the  hands  of  the  rebel  officials.  Ee  entered  Ander- 
sonville  in  April.  L864,  and  remained  until  his  escape  in  the 
following  September.  Jle  was  afterward  re-captured  and  fi- 
nally exchanged.  This  soldier  had,  therefore,  abundant  oppor- 
tunity for  dose;  and  particular  observation.  ILis  varied  ex- 
perience in  the  prisons  of  the  South,  the  candor  and  intelli- 
gence with  which  he  treats  the  multiform  subjects  forming  the 
themes  of  his  narrative,  together  with  the  strong  and  unques- 
tionable corroboration  of  his  truthfulness  furnished  by  the  state- 
ments of  the  witnesses  examined  by  the  committee,  which  con- 
firm  him  in  every  particular,  enable  us  to  commend  the  liberal 
extracts  from  his  published  works  which  we  i'eel  at  liberty  to 
im  I'odnce  here. 

This  gentleman,  Mr.  II.  M.  Davidson,  of  tin-  First  Ohio  Artil- 
lery, lias  published  a  work  entitled,  "Four  .Months  in  Southern 
Prisons.*5  This  is  a  book  of  great  interest,  not  only  as  a  per- 
sonal narrative  but  as  a  source  of  exact  information  upon  the 
subject  of  rebel  imprisonment.  We  call  attention  to  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  this  work: 

ENTRANCE   INTO  ANDERSONVILLE. 

"We  had  been  told  that  we  were  to  be  furnished  with  com- 
fortable houses  both  numerous  and  roomy  in  which  there 
would  be  no  more  crowding  together  as  at  Richmond  and  Dan- 
ville, and  that  as  much  liberty  would  be  allowed  us  as  was 
compatible  with  security  against  our  escape..  We  therefore 
strained  our  eyes  to  catch  ,-i  glimpse  of  these  comfortable 
houses;  but.  not  seeing  them,  concluded  they  must  be  so  low 
as  nol  to  be  visible  outside  of  the  enclosure,  and  that  the  fence 
was  the  limit  of  the  yard  in  which  we  were  to  take  the  exer- 
cise provided  us.  Beyond  the  prison,  and  stretching  out  on 
all  sides  of  us.  was  a  vast  forest  of  pine,  whose  heavy,  dark 
foliage,  hanging  from  the  tall  and  limbless  trunks,  seemed 
like  a  funeral  canopy  spread  over  the  gloomy  sun.  A  little 
to  our  righl   was  ;i  small,  sluggish  stream  bending  slightly  1<> 


^-■<r<-tj^...^~ 


Sonii    End  and  Sink 


-^?-> 


':\«V._..''a 


®MJ& 


rlllilf 


• 


.\i  ai;    North    Gate — Awaitim;    Entrance   of    Moke   Prisoners 


<     \'  in  ssion  m    Report 

the  north  and  terminating  in  a  marshy  bell  just  as  it  reached 
the  prison  walls.  Tins  we  presumed  was  to  supply  us  with 
water.  Near  the  walls  of  the  prison,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
d  a  building  in  the  course  of  construction,  the  skele- 
being  all  thai  was  visible.  The  whole  presented 
a  dismal  appearance  of  desolation  which  can  be  fell  only  by 

-  •  who  witnessed  it. 

e  preliminaries  being  finally  arranged  t<>  the  satisfaction 

the  commandant,  the  column  moved  forward  <>n  the  main 
road  until  it  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  stream,  where  it  sepa- 
rated into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  the  advance  continuing  di- 

tly  forward  to  the  main  entrance  of  the  yard,  while  the  rear 
turned  to  the  right  and  crossed  the  stream   entering  by  the 

•i]  gate.  The  detachment  to  which  T  belonged  was  in  the 
van,  and  when  we  reached  the  gate  we  halted.  The  guards, 
with  loaded  muskets  and  fixed  bayonets,  were  drawn  up  in 
line  of  battle.  Tho  massave  double  doors  swung  open,  disclos 
ing  a  horrible  and  heartrending  spectacle.  The  prisoners  liad 
gathered  in  a  disorderly  crowd  upon  either  side  of  tho  street 

tosite  tho  entrance  to  receive  us  and  to  recognize  any  ac- 
quaintances or  friends  that  might  ho  in  our  company.  Their 
fids  and  bare  feet  were  black  with  smoke  from  tho  pino 
fires;  their  clothes  hung  in  tattered  strips  from  thoir  limhs  and 
bodies;  their  hair  was  long  and.  matted  with  tar  and  dirt, 
fell  in  r  r  their  eye?,  which  glared  fearfully  upon  ns  as 

we  marched  between  thoso  living  linos.  Tt  was  liko  entering 
the  borders  of  hell,  where  gathered  demons  had  crowded  to  the 
passaf  _us   welcome  to   their  infernal   abodes.     Those 

men,  who  had  been  heroes  upon  many  a  well  contested  field. 
were  now  shorn  of  their  strength  and  stood  helpless  beside  us, 
their  black  skins  drawn  ti<_rht  upon  their  fleshless  frames,  their 
bony  arms  trembling  with  weakness.  Some  were  without  hats, 
•  without  coats  or  Bhirts;  others  had  no  trousers,  and  nearly 
all   were  destitute  of  any  covering  for  thoir  foot.     They  more 

mbled  fiends  than  human  beings,  to  such  a  fearful  pass  had 
the  brutality  of  their  jailors  broughl  them.  Prom  this  moment 
Imp.  h  thai  this  was  indeed  the  last  of  earth; 

thai  we  had  been  broughl  here  into  dreary  ad  swamp-. 

far  from  home  ond  the  reach  of  friends,  to  die.     True 

ing,  alas,  to  liovi   many  oi  us ! 


128      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Moni  mint  Commission 


APPEAR  \xci:   INSIDE. 

"Scattered  aboui  in  parts  of  the  arena  were  the  houses  of 
the  prisoners.  They  consisted  of  pieces  of  shelter  tents  or 
remnants  of  blankets  stretched  on  boughs  of  pine  trees,  bul  few 
of  the  prisoners  possessed  even  these  accommodations.  The  ma- 
jority were  either  with  do  covering  a1  .-ill  or  had  dug  holes  in  the 
md  into  which  they  crawled  for  shelter.  Tn  looking  over 
this  field,  there  could  be  seen  nothing  of  interesl  to  attrad  the 
eye  or  engage  the  attention  of  the  beholder.  Turn  in  which  way 
we  would,  the  same  dismal  scene  of  wretchedness  confronted 
us.  the  same  squalid  forms  crawled  past:  the  same  sullen  look 
of  despair  was  on  every  Pace.  Around  us  were  the  high,  grey 
walls  upon  whose  tops  stood  the  relentless  sentry,  ready  and 
eager  to  destroy  us  at  the  first  motion  beyond  the  limit  fixed. 
The  gloomy  pines,  upon  whose  dark  tops  the  blue  smoke  of  our 
pit  had  settled  in  ominous  clouds,  stretched  far  off  on  every 
hand.  Tt  was  only  when  we  looked  upward  1o  the  sky  that  we 
saw  faint  pays  of  light  in  the  mild  blue  eye  of  Heaven  beam- 
ing pityingly  down  upon  us.  There,  from  the  presence  of  the 
Clod  above  us.  we  gathered  new  strength,  new  inspiration,  well 
knowing  that  only  by  keeping  our  heads  stronpr  and  our  cour- 
age  true,  could  we  survive  the  terrible  seenes  we  knew  must 
shortly  follow. 

"In  the  northeast  and  southeast  corners  of  the  stoekade  there 
were  spaces  about  eighl  rods  in  length  by  four  in  width,  in 
which  white  canvas  was  stretched  in  the  form  of  wedges  with 
the  sharp  ed^es  uppermost.  The  tops  of  these  contrivances 
were  about  live  feet  high  while  the  bottoms  were  fastened  to 
wooden  pins  some  six  inches  from  the  ground.  The  floor  was 
the  bare  earth  uncarpeted  by  grass  or  straw.  This  constituted 
the  hospiial  of  Camp  Sumter,  and  it  was  excellently  designed  for 
the  purpose  of  baking  the  unfortunate  victims  of  disease  who 
mighl  chance  1<>  craw]  into  them.  Destructive  as  these  ovens 
were,  they  were  crowded  with  sick  men  who  lay  moaning  on 
their  oaked  b<-<ls.  sweltering  in  the  l  [owing  heat  of  the  southern 
sun.  which,  even  at  this  time  of  year,  was  pouring  down  torrents 
of  tire.  The  only  ground  unoccupied  in  the  enclosure  north  of 
the  swamp  was  a   narrow  strip  fifty  feet   wide  reaching  quite 


U  rs    PROM    (  lONQRESSION  \L    REPORT  129 

across  the  i  of  the  pen  from  north  to  south,     [nto  this 

we  were  ushered  in  due  form  and  turned  loose  to  shift  for  our- 
selves. In  this  confined  Bpace  we  were  permitted  to  Belecl  our 
position,  and  the  right  to  it.  when  Belected,  was  based  upon  the 
principle  of  squatter  sovereignty.  It'  the  fortunate  occupaut 
n\'  the  soil,  however,  was  too  weak  to  maintain  his  right,  he  was 
apt  to  be  ousted  by  his  Btronger  neighbor.  Generally,  as  we 
afterward  learned,  each  detachment  had  a  portion  of  soil  as- 
signed by  the  authorities,  where  it  was  required  to  gather  for 
the  purpose  of  roll  call,  sick  call,  and  the  issuing  of  rations; 
but  the  men  were  uol  obliged  to  remain  there  at  any  other  time 
or  \'"\-  any  other  pur] 

"Morning  broke  at  last  and.  rising  from  the  couch  on  which 

Mad  in  vain  sought  repose,  we  rolled  our  blankets  together, 

wet  with  the  chilling  shower  of  dew  which  had  fall*  n  copiously 

during  the  night.     Collecting  our  cooking  utensils  in  a  bundle-, 

we  left  them  with  a  friend  while  we  set  out  in  search  of  water. 

Taking  the  direction  of  a  belt  of  fog,  which  had  settled  down 

about  half  way  between  our  situation  and  the  south  side  of  the 

;kade,   we    found,   on    reaching   it.   a    black,   boggy   swamp, 

which  appeared  to  be  about  eighty  yards  in  width.     Through 

this  swamp  a  muddy  stream  of  water  wound  its  Bluggish  way 

along  till  it  passed  between  the  timbers  of  the  stockade  slightly 

<1  off  for  the  purpose  on  the  east  side 

"The  swamp  was  full  of  bogs  in  which  stagnant  water  was 
oozing,  forming  little  pools  which  were  covered  with  a  thick, 
dark  scum,  and  this,  when  disturbed,  gave  <>ut  a  sickening 
•h.  on  the  east  si,],-,  the  prison  sink  was  located.  But  be- 
cause  «»f  the  weakness  of  the  sick  men.  several  mds  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  stream  was  used  f<>v  that  purpose.  The  water  was 
warm  and  disagreeable.  Tt  had  a  dirty,  boggy  taste  and  was, 
'i  when  in  its  purest  state.  <>t'  ;l  dark,  reddish-brown  color. 
The  water  in  the  west  end,  Dear  the  dead  line,  was  used  \'<>v 
drinking  purposes,  and  below  this  \\>r  bathing.  These  arrang<  - 
menl  vert  had  been  made  by  mutual  consent  of  the  pris- 

oners, the  authorities  having  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Had  all 
the  arrangements  of  our  imprisonment  been  as  good  as  this, 
we  would  not  have  murmured. 


130      Report  of  Anderson ville  Monument  Commission 


DISTRIBUTION    OF    RATIONS. 

"Sometime  in  the  afternoon  the  ration  wagon  drove  into  the 
stockade  laden  with  rations  of  cornmeal,  bacon,  and  salt,  which 
were  thrown  down  into  a  heap  in  an  open  space  aboul  midway 
in  the  enclosure.  It  was  a  horrible  sighl  to  witness  the  haggard 
crowd  gather  about  this  precious  pile  while  the  commissary 
superintended  its  division  among  the  squad  sergeants.  Mean: 
while,  we  were  gazing  with  wolfish  eyes  upon  the  little  heap  as 
it  diminished,  or  followed  our  commissary  sergeant  back  to  his 
quarters  as  famished  swine  follow  clamorously  the  footsteps  of 
their  master  as  he  carries  their  food  to  the  accustomed  trough. 
Our  rations  were  distributed  by  the  division  sergeant  to  the 
mess  sergeant,  and  then  divided  aniong  the  men.  To  avoid  quar- 
reling, the  last  distribution  was  made  by  parceling  it  out  in 
small  piles,  as  many  as  there  wer<  prisoners  in  the  mess.  One 
man  in  the  mess  was  placed  a  short  distance  off  with  his  back 
turned.  The  sergeanl  would  then  point  to  a  pile  and  ask  who 
should  have  this  pile,  and  who  that,  and  the  man  would  an- 
nounce the  name  or  number  of  the  man.  to  whom  each  pile 
should  go. 

"At  the  time  of  our  capture  it  was  the  usual  thing  to  he 
robbed  of  our  tin  cups,  tin  plates,  knives  and  forks,  so  we  weic 
compelled  to  shift  different  ways,  using  chips,  half  canteens 
and  borrowed  cups;  and  to  use  wooden  spoons  and  utensils 
made  out  of  scraps  of  sheet   iron. 

"But  with  all  our  can1  and  labor,  the  rations  were  at  last  de- 
voured in  a  half  cooked  state,  which  aided  in  the  increase  of 
the  frightful  misery  which  subsequently  occurred.  A  few  tops 
of  the  pine  trees  which  had  been  left  within  the  stockade  by 
the  confederate  authorities  when  the  interior  was  cleared,  to- 
gether with  the  greater  pari  of  the  stumps,  had  been  used  by 
the  first  detachment;  and  an  adequate  supply  of  wood  was 
never  afterward  provided,  although  just  outside  the  prison 
walls  millions  of  cords  apparently  worthless  in  that  country 
were  growing,  and  we  would  gladly  have  gathered  it  and 
broughl  ii  in  our  shoulders  had  we  keen  allowed  to  do  so. 
Such  permission  was  no1  granted,  excepl  for  ;i  few  times  when 
a  squad  from  each  division  was  senl  under  guard  to  forage  for 


J£4^».  'I  A 


<4  ■■■  . 


' 


Extracts  prom  Congressional  Report  L33 

dead  limlis  and  Bticks.  This  practice  was  brought  to  an  and 
by  one  of  the  details  seizing  their  guard  and  marching  north- 
ward with  him. 

"Since  the  close  of  the  war,  in  order  to  prepare  the  ground 
for  crops,  thousands  of  acres  of  thai  timber  has  been  girdled 
and  burned. 

THE  TENNESSE  INS. 

■"In  the  early  pari  »>i"  May,  some  five  hundred  Union  Ten 
nessee  soldiers,  who  had  been  captured  by  Forrest  and  wintered 
at  Selnia  and  Cahawha,  Alabama,  arrived  among  us,  the  mosl  of 
whom  were  withoul  hats,  boots,  shoes,  coals,  trousers  or  blan- 
kets. On  Leaving  those  places  the  authorities  had  told  them 
they  were  going  to  be  exchanged,  a  shrewd  piece  of  stral 
with  which  the  rebel  officers  duped  the  unsuspecting  prisoners 
upon  all  occasions  of  removal  to  avoid  increasing  the  number 
of  guards  to  accompany  them.  They  were  wholly  destitute  of 
cups,  plates,  Bpoons  and  dishes  of  every  kind,  as  well  as  means 
of  purchasing  them,  having  been  Etripped  of  these  things  by 
their  captors.  In  their  destitute  condition  they  were  turned 
into  tin-  stockade  and  left  t<»  shifl  for  themselves  as  besl  they 
could.  T<>  borrow  cups  of  their  fellow  prisoners  was  out  of 
the  question,  for  jh »h<-  could  he  expected  to  Lend.  If  they  were 
returned,  the  lender  would  be  destitute.  No  «»ne  wanted  to 
trust  entire  strangers  in  such  a  place.  There  was  no  way  loft 
for  those  Tennesseeans  hut  to  hake  their  raw  meal  and  bacon 
npon  st'.nrs  and  chips,  eat  ii  without  moisture  and  afterwards 
go  to  th<-  brook  like  leasts  to  quench  their  thirst.  To  keep 
themselves  from  the  cold  during  the  nights,  they  scooped  oul 
shallow  |»la<-«-«>  in  the  earth  with  their  hands  and  there  lay  down 
side  by  side,  with  their  bare  heads  am!  hare  Peel  resting  on  the 
Burface  of  the  ground,  leaving  their  unprotected  bodies  to  be- 
come we1  with  dew  and  storm.  The  wretched  men  trembled 
and  shivered  till  morning.  There  was  no  hope  of  bettering 
themselves,  u>v.  having  no  money,  they  could  buy  nothing,  and 
nothing  would  he  given  them  by  the  authorities.  Nor  were  they 
allowed  even  ?•»  earn  worn  out  apparel.     They  were  utterly  help- 

3    tO    benefil     themselves;    Vet     tlle.se    llleJl    Were    kept     here    many 

months,  and  many  of  them  Lived  t  h  r<»u  j_rli  it  all. 


L34      Report  oj  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

"In  the  morning  after  being  admitted,  they  made  a  lour  of 
inspection,  when  the  sun  had  appeared  in  the  horizon,  shedding 
its  warm  rays  over  the  prison.  These  half  naked,  squalid 
wretches,  black  with  dirl  and  smoke  feebly  draped  their 
emaciated  forms  from  the  holes  into  which  they  had  crawled 
the  preceding  night,  and  began  their  preparations  for  the  com- 
ing day  by  passing  quietly  across  the  swamp.  We  hastened  tip 
the  rising  ground  on  the  north  side  of  the  stockade,  when;  a 
full  view  of  the  scene  might  he  had  at  a  glance. 

'"Taking  our  station  at  the  summit,  we  watched  the  tattered 
forms  as  they  crept  slowly  by,  making  their  way  to  the  creek 
for  water.  They  approached  the  little  stream,  some  carrying 
tin  cups  or  pails  made  of  empty  fruit  cans  into  which  they  had 
inserted  strings  or  wires  to  serve  the  purpose  of  handles. 
Others  bore  small  buckets  or  wooden  pails,  which  they  had 
fashioned  with  their  pocket  knives  from  pine  sticks,  or  oc- 
casionally one  of  larger  dimensions  formed  of  staves  and  hoops; 
while  others  had  hoot  legs  sewed  tightly  together;  and  many, 
very  many,  had  nothing.  They  gathered  into  a  sort  of  file 
when  they  reached  the  swamp  and  passed  upon  the  planks  to 
the  creek,  each  stooping  down  in  turn  to  dip  his  little  cup  into 
the  water,  then  tinned  back  to  seek  his  quarters.  Five  thous- 
and men,  al  this  hour  in  the  morning,  daily  visited  this  spot 
to  get  water  for  breakfast,  while  the  partner  of  each  remained 
behind  to  watch  their  common  effects. 

"But  behind  this  procession  to  the  water  came  still  a  sadder 
one,  tiiose  who  could  not  walk.  They  crept  on  their  hands  and 
knees  or  crawled  upon  their  breasts,  pulling  their  bodies  along 
by  burying  their  elbows  in  the  sand.  These  miserable  beings, 
the  victims  of  starvation  and  consequent  diseases,  would  writhe 
and  twist  themselves  to  the  stream.  Bui  they  did  not  all  get 
back.  for.  overcome  with  the  fatigue  of  their  laborious  effort, 
some  would  creep  to  one  side  of  the  path  and  die. 

"Presently  little  fires  spring  np  on  every  hand,  sending  out 
wreaths  of  smoke  which  rise  a  short  distance  above  the  pen  and 
hover  there  in  ;i  dark  cloud,  through  which  the  sun  looks  red. 
Let  us  approach  these  fires  and  examine  the  culinary  de- 
partment of  the  prison.  The  prisoners  are  gathered  around 
bits  of  blazing  pine  which  they  have  placed  in  a  hole  to  econo- 
mic    heal.     Thev    mix    their   liitle    meal    with    water   and    a    few 


Andebsonville  Homes 


K\i.;\<  i-  prom  Congressional  Report  137 

grains  of  salt.  This  mixture  they  put  upon  a  chip,  using  the 
utmosl  care  that  no  particle  of  the  meal  be  lost,  ;m<l  then  place 
ih«'  dough  on  another  green  pine  chip  and  hold  it  before  the 
smoking  fire,  It  is  painful  to  look  upon  them  during  this  opera- 
tion, to  see  the  greed  in  their  hollo*  eyes  while  they  watch 
the  crumbs  that  occasionally  drop  from  the  narrow  chip  as  the 
compound,  partially  dried,  is  shaken  by  their  trembling  hands; 
and  to  note  how  anxiously  they  seek  such  tiny  morsels  among 
the  dirt  and  ashes,  and  carefully  replace  them  when  founJ. 
The  bacon  is  toasted  before  the  fire  upon  a  stick,  and  when 
d  has  an  oily,  smoky  taste. 
w .  let  us  pause  before  this  strip  of  black  blankel  that  is 

tched  over  a  couple  of  poles.     Stooping  low  down  we  dis- 

r  a  soldier  stretched  out  at  full  length  upon  the  bare  ground. 
He  is  literally  alone  in  the  world,  and  we  learn,  upon  question- 
ing him,  that  his  comrade  l>ut  a  day  or  two  ago  died  by  his  side 
and  was  carried  out.  He  is  too  feeble  to  rise,  and  tells  us 
thai  he,  too,  expects  to  be  taken  away  soon.  His  face  is  be- 
grimed with  dirt,  hair  matted,  skin  drawn  tightly  over  tiv 
skeleton  frame.  We  learn  that  he  passed  the  long,  weary 
winter  at  Belle  Island,  where  the  severe  cold  and  lack  of  food 
Bowed  the  seeds  of  disease  in  his  system,  and  whose  speedy  end 
will  be  an  obscene  death  and  an  unknown  grave. 

steps  to  the  right  we  find  a  hideous  object  lying  in  a 
hole  which  his  hands  have  scooped  out  in  the  sand.  The  tat- 
tered rags  that  partially  cover  him  cannot  conceal  the  bones 
that   gleam   through   his  skin;   his  eyes  stare    fearfully   in   his 

I :  his  hands  clench  tightly  together;  h.is  limbs  are  drawn 
up  in  horrible  contortions  by  cramps.  The  only  motion  of 
which  his  body  is  capable  is  a  rolling  from  side  to  side  with  his 
back   as  a   pivot.     The   vermin   crawl    in    vasl    armies  over   his 

•<•!"<!  person.  He  takes  no  notice  of  passing  objects  unless 
he  i>  particularly  addressed,  f<  r  he  is  gradually  passing  out  ot 
this  world.  Placing  an  ear  to  his  lips  we  father  from  his 
faint  whispers  that  but  a  short  time  before  he  had  left  some 
New  England  college  Bushed  with  hope  and  courage  to  hattlo 

liberty  and  right.  A  fend  mother  pressed  her  lip3  to  his 
brow  as  with  tearful  eyes  she  hade  him  farewell;  a  kind  sister 
in  cheering  words  urged  him  on  to  duty:  a  brother's  hand 
wrapped  the  garb  of  his  country's  defenders  about   his  form: 


lo.s      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Moni  ment  Commission 

and  in  the  field  he  performed  deeds  of  valor.  He  was  cap- 
tured, and  now  even  while  we  linger  beside  him  a  I'aini  tremor 
passes  through  his  frame  and  all  is  over.  He,  too,  will  be  borne 
away  to  a  nameless  grave,  and  his  Loved  ones  will  seek  in  vain 
to  distinguish  him  Prom  the  thousands  thai  sleep  beside  him. 

'•.Inst  in  front  of  us  we  see  a  throDg  gathered  aboul  an  ob 
jecl  which  in  other  places  than  this  would  draw  tears  of  sym- 
pathy from  the  hardest  heart,  yet  scenes  of  horror  are  so  fre- 
quent here  that  it  excites  but  passing  interest.  Ii  is  a  young 
soldier  born  and.  raised  in  a  fertile  twonship  in  Ohio.  His 
early  life  had  been  passed  among  the  pleasant  vales  of  thai 
noble  state;  every  kindness  that  parental  Love  could  bestow 
had  been  lavished  upon  him,  and  he  had  ranked  high  among 
the  promising  and  intelligent  youth  of  his  country, — a  man  of 
talent,  of  literary  attainments  and  noble  instincts.  But  rea- 
son is  now  dethroned,  and,  in  his  frenzy,  he  tears  the  tattered 
rags  from  his  emaciated  form,  gnashing  his  teeth  and  foaming 
with  rage.  But  the  paroxysm  is  momentary.  His  strength  is 
exhausted, — he  falls  to  the  ground  helpless  as  in  infancy,  and 
is  horne  away  by  Ins  comrades. 

"There  is  one  form  of  disease  which  seems  to  predominate, 
and  which  is  almost  too  horrible  to  witness;  yet  we  cannot 
understand  the  wretchedness  of  the  prison  without  looking 
upon  it.  This  is  not  a  solitary  case,  for  we  find  oilier  similar 
ones  before  we  leave  this  living  charnal  house.  We  instinct- 
ively pause  as  we  reach  the  awful  sight  before  us,  holding  our 
breath  lest  we  inhale  the  terrible  stench  that  arises  from  it. 

"Here  is  a  living  being  who  has  become  so  exhausted  from 
exposure  that  he  is  unable  to  rise  from  the  ground,  suffering 
villi  diarrhea  in  its  last  and  worst  form.  The  vermin  crawl 
and  riot  upon  his  flesh.  The  worms  are  feeding  beneath  his 
skin,  burying  themselves  where  his  limbs,  swollen  with  scurvy, 
have  burst  open  in  running  sores;  they  have  found  their  way 
into  his  intestines  and  form  a  living,  writhing  mass  within  him. 
His  case  has  been  represented  to  the  surgeons,  but  they  haw 
pronounced  him  incurable  and  he  is  left  here  in  his  misery,  in 
which  he  will  linger  for  a  few  more  days.  Proper  care  and 
treatmenl  would  have  saved  him  long  ago  but  not  now,  and  his 
comrades  abandon  him  to  death. 

"  While  we  are  witnessing  this  sickening  spectacle,  the  drum 
beats  at  the  south  gate  and  the  prisoners,  dropping  their  halt'- 


I 


RXTRACTS    PROM    CONGRESSIONAL    REPORT  II'. 

cooked  food,  hasten  to  form  themselves  i  n  t » >  ranks  preparatory 
to  l'«'iiiLr  counted.  Being  arranged  In  Irregular  lines,  the  Btrong 
men  standing,  the  weak  Bitting  or  lying  upon  the  ground,  the 
j.-;iiii  passes  carefully  around  to  see  if  all  the  ranks  are  full, 
and  he  searches  among  the  huts  for  those  who  are  unable  to 
crawl  to  the  lines.  Raising  our  eyes,  we  observe  thai  each 
sentry  box  contains  two  additional  men  and  thai  they  grasp 
their  muskets  with  n  firm  hand.  The  prisoners  observe  it  also, 
and  they  know  well  thai  some  of  their  comrades  were  missed  al 
the  last  roll  call  and  that  the  sentries  arc  there  to  fir.'  on  any 
division  that  breaks  ranks  before  the  camp  has  been  thoroughly 
searched.  The  offcer  comes  forward  hastily,  pjiss.^s  from  the 
head  to  the  rear  of  the  column,  counting  the  standing  men. 

"The  sergeanl  leads  him  to  the  sick  thai  still  remain  in  their 
howls  unable  to  creep  out.  then  to  the  dead,  and  the  comple- 
ment is  tilled.  II, •  s.-ts  the  division  down  as  full  and  passes 
"•n.  th<-  men  still  remaining  in  line.  Let  us  also  pass  on  with 
the  officer  till  he  comes  to  tin-  division  to  which  the  missing  man 
belonged.  It  is  drawn  up  in  line  like  the  others.  The  sergeanl 
reports  his  number  present;  the  officer  examines  his  book  and 
>  that  one  is  gone.  The  sergeant  shakes  his  head  when 
d  what  has  become  of  him.  The  men  in  the  ranks  are 
rrogated  hut  no  reply  is  obtained.  A  sick  man  lying  on 
tin-  ground  points  to  ,-i  hole  near  by.  The  officer  goes  in  that 
direction,  sto.»ps  down,  and  looks  beneath  the  thin  shell  of 
earth,  and  there  the  missing  our  lies  dead,  unknown  to  his  com- 
rades, to  all  hut  to  God  who  saw  his  dying  struggle  and  who 
will  bring  him  in  the  last  day.  a  living  witness  against  the 
fiends  who  doomed   him   to  such   a    fate. 

"Th<-  losl  man  found,  the  extra  sentinels  are  relieved.  The 
men  break  ranks  and  resume  their  occupation.  Bu1  11m  ser- 
geanl has  \\<>v\;  yel  to  do,  for  the  sick  of  his  division  are  to  ho 
gathered  up,  the  helpless  on  blankets,  those  able  to  walk  in 
squads,  and  all  musl  reporl  to  the  south  gate  to  receive  their 
medicine.  We  pass  over  to  this  gate  and  bestow  a  casual 
glance  upon  the  wretched  ones  gathered  there.  They  come 
from  all  pai  In  of  the  Btockade  and  are  crowded  in  the  small 
ii  acre.  Here  they  musl  remain  for  many  long 
| hours  in  the  broiling  sun,  without  shelter  or  protection,  wait- 
ing until  their  turn  may  come  to  he  served.     Yet  fourteen  snr- 


* 


144      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Mont  mint  Commission 

geons  are  busy   working  in  yonder  enclosure  and  cadi  has  bis 
assistant  who  can  prescribe  for  mosl  of  the  cases." 

THE    BOSPITA]     STATEMENT    BY.    LEROV    CLARK. 

The  hospital  was  established  outside  of  the  stockade,  and 
the  water  was  procured  from  the  creek  above,  so  it  was  nol 
adulterated  by  the  filth  from  the  camp  or  stockade.  The  ground 
occupied  was  about  two  acies  of  land.  Jt  was  enclosed  by  a 
high  board  fence  about  six  feet  in  height.  It  was  laid  out  in 
streets  or  wards.  At  first  the  only  covering  was  several  pieces 
of  canvas  stretched  over  poles  which  formed  simply  a  pro- 
tection against  the  sun  and  rain,  but  afterward  wedge  tents  were 
provided  and,  in  a  few  cases,  bunks  were  placed  in  them  upon 
which  the  sick  men  could  be  laid.  Further  than  this  there  was 
nothing  between  the  patient  and  the  earth,  except  such  rags  of 
clothing  as  he  might  chance  to  possess. 

When  the  hospital  was  first  established  outside,  only  two  sur- 
geons were  in  attendance  at  the  sick  call,  but  before  the  sum- 
mer was  past  twelve  additional  ones  and  a  clerk  for  each  were 
required,  so  rapidly  had  disease  increased  among  us.  It  was 
the  duty  of  the  sergeant  of  the  division  within  the  stockade  to 
report  with  the  sick  at  the  south  gate  every  morning  at  eight 
o'clock,  or  immediately  after  roll  call.  The  sick  call  was  beat 
near  the  south  gate.  There  twelve  clerk  stands  or  booths  had 
been  fitted  up  with  awnings  and  boards  for  writing  upon  and 
depositing  medicine.  The  principal  diseases  treated  were 
scurvy,  pneumonia,  dysenter}'-,  diarrhoea,  ulcers  caused  from 
vaccination,  fevers,  gangrene  and  erysipelas.  The  number  of 
admissions  was  limited  to  the  number  of  vacancies,  and  these 
were  caused,  not  by  the  recovery  and  discharge  of  patients,— 
not  by  the  enlargement  of  the  hospital,  hut  by  the  deaths  which 
silently  am!  swiftly  made  way  lor  fresh  victims.  Every  man 
knew  full  well  when  he  received  his  ticket  admitting  him  to 
that  house  of  Living  death  that  the  grim  messenger  had  removed 

a  comrade  whose  place  he  was  t -ciipy. — waiting  and  watching 

patiently   until   his  turn  should  come  and  another  brought  in  as 
he  was  carried  out. 

The   prisoners  who  were  not  recently  vaccinated  were  com 
pelled,    under   ^'y<t<-    penalty,    to   undergo   this   operation,   the 


- 


• 


Extracts  from  Congressional  Repori  L49 

surgeons  having  been  requested,  it  was  said,  by  the  I  ruled 
State*  government  to  do  this  as  a  preventive  of  small  pox.  ii 
led  strange  to  us  thai  here,  where  instances  of  thai  disease 
were  bo  extremely  rare,  such  an  order  should  be  given,  yel  the 
tel  showed  Buch  a  devilish  cunning  of  the  authorities  al 
Andersonville.  The  virus  used  was  impure,  and  it'  the  inocula* 
tion  with  the  poison  did  not  fail  (as  it  did  in  many  instances  . 
the  wound  would  n<»t  heal  under  the  influence  of  the  heat,  star- 
vation, and  impure  air,  and  invariably  terminated  in  horrible 
Looking  ulcers.  It  must  be  remembered  thai  diseases  here  were 
out  of  ordinary,  not  BUCh  as  may  be  seen  a1  any  liospit;d 
in  tlif  vicinity  of  ;i  populous  city;  nor  were  they  the  results  of 
voluntar  ss  -  on  the  part  of  the  patient.    They  were  such 

ere  forced  upon  strong,  able-bodied  men  with  robusl  health, 
made  more  robust  by  the  long  military  service  in  the  field,  and 
fortified  by  the  hardships  of  a  life  againsl  disci  e  in  every  form; 
upon  men  in  whose  blood  no  disease  had  ever  lurked.  It  must 
also  be  remembered  thai  these  diseases  did  not  come  suddenly 
upon  us,  but  were  the  re:ults  of  a  slow  process  thai  crept 
quietly  and  surely  upon  us,  beginning  with  insignificanl  signs 
and  ending  in  death,  or  whal  was  worse, — in  permanenl  and  in- 
curable disease  that  must  follow  the  victim  as  long  as  life  lasts 
— an  unremitting  source  of  pain  and  misery. 

Our  surge  us.  there  acted  under  orders  of  General  Winder 
and  Captain  Wirz,  and  so  eon  Id  do  l>nt  little  beyond  secretly  ex- 
pressing their  abhorrei f  the  barbarity  with  which  we  were 

treated,  and  their  wish  to  alleviate  our  sufferings.  I  gladly 
record  the  little  acts  of  kindness  performed  by  them,  for  they 
were  verdanl  spots  in  that  va  t  Sahara  of  misery.  Drs.  Wat- 
kins,  Rowzie,  Thornbur,  Reeves,  Williams,  James,  Thompson. 
Pilatt  and  Sanders  deserve  and  will  receive  the  lasting  gratitude 
of  the  prisoners  who  received  medical  treatmenl  a1  their  hands 
during  thai  memorable  summer  at  Andersonville.  These,  with 
five  others,  whose  names  need  not  be  mentioned,  were  connected 
with  the  sick  call  and  are  to  be  distinguished  from  the  hospital 
surgeons,  the  latter  being  exclusively  engaged  within  the  hospi- 
tal enclosure. 

Among  the  Burgeons  who  attended  in  the  hospital  was  a 
Doctor  Burrows  who  belonged  to  ;i  Massachusetts  regiment. 
He  had  been  captured  and  sent   here  early  in  the  season  and 


150      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 

was  paroled  t<»  ad  in  the  capacity  of  a  Burgeon.  He  was  a 
kind-hearted  and  skillful  physich  a  and  devoted  his  time  to  the 
sick  under  his  care  with  tireless  industry  and  patience,  yet  In; 
could  do  little  to  relieve  their  sufferings  owing  to  the  condi- 
tions under  which  they  were  placed.  He  attempted  to  procure 
men  from  the  stockade  to  go  with  him  under  guards  to  cut 
timber  in  the  adjacent  woods  with  which  to  build  cabins  Tor 
llie  hospitals,  pledging  himself  for  their  return,  yet  Captain 
Wirz  denied  him  this  request  and  the  cabins  were  never  built. 
Could  he  have  succeeded  in  his  attempt  to  erect  these  huts,  he 
would  have  vastly  reduced  the  suffering  and  wretchedness  of 
the  inmates  of  the  hospital.  His  well-meanl  endeavors  were 
freely  appreciated  by  the  sufferers,  and  the  survivors  will  hold 
him  in  lasting  gratitude. 

Among  the  prisoners  at  the  hospital  was  a  crazy  man  named 
Jones.  This  man  had  become  insane  through  long  exposure  to 
the  sun,  aided  by  famine,  and  was  at  times  a  source  of  great 
annoyance  to  the  sick.  His  insanity  took  an  immoral  form  and 
he  was  constantly  stealing  articles  of  food  and  clothing.  One 
of  his  tricks  was  to  pilfer  the  wood  which  the  surgeons'  clerks 
had  gathered  for  cooking,  and  to  make  a  bonfire  of  it,  warming 
himself  with  the  greatest  enjoyment  even  when  the  day  was 
excessively  hot.  He  had  also  a  great  proclivity  for  washing 
himself  and  his  clothes,  performing  the  operation  at  all  hours 
of  the  day  or  night.  So  great  was  his  penchant  for  washing 
that  he  frequenlty  picked  up  old  worn  out  coats  and  pieces  of 
trousers,  and,  carrying  them  to  the  little  creek,  cleaned  them 
with  as  much  perseverance  and  gusto  as  a  professional  laun- 
dress. He  considered  his  comrades  as  an  inferior  class  of 
beings  whose  habits  and  tastes  led  them  to  remain  in  their 
lilt  1 1 .  He  often  took  off  his  coat  and  washed  it,  putting  it  on 
while  still  dripping,  and  strutting  around  among  the  prisoners 
with  his  head  erect  like  a  Broadway  dandy.  He  would  some- 
times beat  the  weaker  prisoners  unmercifully,  for  which  offense 
the  chief  of  police  tied  his  hands  behind  him,  Jones,  meanwhile, 
grating  his  teeth  and  cursing  fearfully.  His  pranks  were  gen- 
erally of  a  harmless  character,  and  the  volubility  with  which 
he  talked  of  his  importance  as  a  member  of  society  and  the 
fearful  retribution  in  store  for  the  rebels  through  his  means. 
served  to  amuse  the  sick  and  to  divert  their  thoughts  from  a 


Extracts  prom  Congressional  Report  L51 

contemplation  of  their  own  misery.     And  in  this  way  the  poor   - 
fellow  unwittingly  did  much  good.     Il«'  died  in  the  early  pari 
August . 

Wl  »  Ml  SSN]  SS  OF  THE  Gl    ^RDS. 

The  guard  posted  about  the  hospitals,  either  acting  under 
orders  or  for  some  other  motive,  were  very  reckless  in  the  per 
formance  of  their  duties.  They  frequently  discharged  muskets 
into  the  hospital  ground  and  performed  other  acts  of  violence 
wholly  uncalled  for.  One  uighl  a  sick  man.  feeling  chilly  upon 
his  cold,  earthy  bed,  arose  and  crawled  to  a  fire  which  was  burn- 
ing in  the  enclosure.  A  sentinel  seeing  him  sitting  before  it, 
drew  his  gun  up  and  discharged  it.  The  ball  passed  through 
o  crevice  between  the  boards  of  the  fence  and  hit  the  man, 
breaking  his  arm  and  splintering  the  hone  of  his  leg.  Dr.  Bur- 
rows immediately  came  oul  of  his  quarters  and  dressed  \\\-. 
wounds  l»ni  the  unfortunate  victim  never  recovered.  There  was 
nut  the  slightest  occasion  for  this  murder.  The  invalid  was  on 
the  ground  assigned  to  all  the  inmates  of  the  hospital.  He  was 
without  thought  of  doing  wrong,  quietly  sitting  by  the  fire, 
which  it  was  customary  to  light  ewvy  evening.  The  sentinel 
could  see  him  only  by  Looking  through  the  boards  of  the  fence, 
which  was  six  feet  high.  He  gave  no  word  of  warning,  but, 
after  the  victim  had  seated   himself,  tired   upon  him  in  cold 

bl 1.   as  it"  he   had   been   a   vicious  dog.     It    was   murder  as 

much  as  it'  the  man  had  been  sleeping  peacefully  in  Ids  bed, 
yet  tie-  ;iN>;issin  was  never  called  to  account  for  it.  Although 
Captain  Wirz  knew  the  full  particulars  of  the  affair,  and  by 
virtue  of  his  office  could  and  should  have  punished  him  severely 
as  an  example  to  others,  he  paid  no  attention  to  it. 

Early  every  morning  the  dead  of  the  preceding  day  and 
aighl  were  gathered  up.  under  the  direction  of  the  Bergeants 
of  divisions,  and  deposited  in  irregular  lines  on  the  road  Lead- 
ing from  the  south  gate  and  near  the  dead  line.  When  the 
gate  was  opened,  at  eight  o'clock,  the  dead  were  taken  up  and. 
one    by   on.-,   placed    upon   a    hand   stretcher  and   carried   out    to 

the  dead  house,  wldch  consisted  of  posts  driven  in  the  ground, 

hoarded    up   ahoiit    six    feet    and    with    an    opening   on   the    west 

side  for  admittance.    This  enclosure  was  covered  with  pii 
of  canvas.     At   these  times  there  were  Large  crowds  of  men 


152      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

gathered  around  the  dead,  all  eagerly  and  clamorously  as 
serting  their  pighl  to  carry  the  bodies  out.  Those  admitted  to 
this  ghastly  privilege  were  allowed,  on  their  return,  to  colled 
a  few  sticks  ol*  wood  which  lay  upon  the  ground  between  the 
stockade  and  the  hospital.  The  wood  was  almost  priceless  to 
them,  for  a  small  handful,  such  as  they  could  pick  up  easily, 
sold  for  live  dollars;  and  with  this  money  they  could  readily 
purhcase  fifteen  Andersonville  rations,  paying  the  exorbitant 
pines  demanded  for  food.  Sometimes  the  poor  men,  in  their 
anxiety  to  get  outside  the  stockade  in  this  manner,  quarreled 
and  fought  to  claim  priority  of  right  in  the  performance  of 
this  melancholy  office.  In  the  latter  part  of  August,  or  early 
in  Sept  ember,  the  number  of  dead  increased  so  rapidly  that 
it  was  found  impracticable  to  take  the  bodies  from  the  stock- 
ade to  the  dead  line,  and  they  were  placed  in  rows  under  an 
awning  of  pine  boughs  just  outside  of  the  defenses  and  near 
the  road  to  the  cemetery.  Here  they  remained  in  the  hot 
sun,  or  in  the  storms,  until  their  turn  came  for  burial.  Pinned 
upon  the  breast  of  every  one  was  a  slip  of  paper  upon  which 
was  written  the  number  of  the  deceased.  But  the  number  of 
the  dead  wTas  not  always  found.  During  the  month  of  August, 
2,990  bodies  were  deposited  in  the  dead  house  previous  to 
burial,  an  average  of  more  than  ninety-six  per  day,  exceeding 
by  one  thousand  the  largest  brigade  in  the  Battle  of  Stone 
River,  and  being  nearly  seven-eighths  as  many  men  as  the  entire 
division  of  Brigadier  General  Van  Cleve  in  that  famous  en- 
gagement. But  during  the  latter  part  of  the  month,  the  mor- 
tality was  much  greater  than  at  the  first,  the  number  of  dead 
being  100,  110,  120,  125,  and  even  140  per  day. 

In  the  early  morning  the  dead  cart  came  for  the  bodies. 
This  was  an  army  wagon  without  covering,  drawn  by  four 
mules  and  driven  by  slaves.  The  bodies  were  tossed  into  the 
carl  without  regard  to  regularity  or  decency,  being  thrown 
upon  one  another  as  sticks  onto  a  pile.  In  this  manner,  with 
their  arms  and  legs  hanging  over  the  sides  and  their  heads 
jostling  and  beating  against  each  other,  the  sable  driver 
whistling  a  merry  strain,  hurrying  rapidly  over  the  roots  and 
stumps  along  the  way,  our  federal  prisoners  were  carted  to 
their  burial.  The  dead  were  buried  by  a  squad  of  prisoners 
paroled  for  that  purpose.  A  trench  running  due  north  and 
south  was  dug,  six    feet    wide  and   Long  enough   to  contain  the 


Digging  Tbj  n<  lies  fob  Bubial  of  Pbisonebs 


Bx TRACTS    FROM    CONGRESSIONAL    REPORT  1  55 

bodies  for  the  day.  In  this  the  bodies  were  placed  Bide  by  Bide, 
their  heads  to  the  east,  and  the  earth  was  then  thrown  in  upon 
them. 

A  Little  mound  a  fool  in  1 1 « - i *_r 1 1 1  was  raised  over  each  body,  a 
Btake  branded  with  Dumber  <>n,  the  label  placed  i«»  the  head 
of  each,  and  without  a  prayer  Baid  over  the  dead,  without  a 
tear  from  tin'  Btranger  that  performed  the  l;ist  rites,  the  cere 
mony  was  ended.  Tin'  number  on  the  stake  referred  t<»  the 
register  kepi  in  the  office  of  the  chief  Burgeon  by  a  Sergeanl 
Atwater,  a  paroled  prisoner.  In  this  register  a  record  was 
made  of  the  number,  rank,  company,  regiment  I  when  these  were 
known  .  date  of  death  and  name  of  deceased.  This  register 
was  kept  with  greal  care  and  is  still  in  existence.  Bui  some  of 
those  who  died  in  the  stockade,  unknown  to  any  one.  have  their 
-   marked  unknown. 

imony  of  Dorence  At  water,  a  witness  examined  l>y  the 
committee,  and  who  had  had  great  opportunities  of  observation, 
having  been  detailed  as  an  assistant  in  the  hospital,  and  whose 
testimony  is  particularly  valuable,  for  the  reason  that  he  ob- 
tained a  list  of  the  Union  dead  who  perished  ;it  Andersonville. 

"  1  went  to  Andersonville  about  the  twenty-t bird  of  February, 
1864.  <  in  the  hanks  of  the  stream  on  the  eastern  Bide  of  the 
kade  was  the  sink  of  the  prisoners.  I  have  Been  dense 
clouds  of  vaporous  stench  arising  from  this  horrible  pool  of 
gnation  floating  low  upon  the  moist,  rarified  atmosphere,  and 
in  its  p«>i>.»noii>  current  ;i  person  would  almost  suffocate  at 
the  distance  of  a  mile.  In  this  state  of  things,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  from  an  ordinary  mil  of  ;i  knife,  the  scratch  of  a  pin.  a 
common  bruise,  or  any  cause,  however  trifling,  which  broke  the 
skin,  gangrene  ensued,  and  the  unfortunate  victims  rotted  l>y 
im-i.  a 

"Th.-  cook-house  was  built  in  May,  1864,  and  the  rations  then 
became  much  worse  in  quality,  and  smaller  in  quantity.  Afag- 
-  were  claimed  as  the  most  delicious  part  of  the  s<>up.  Men 
used  to  draw  sonp  in  their  caps  and  shoes;  issues  of  t'ood  were 
lmt  regulated  by  hours.  1  went  into  the  hospital  about  the 
middle  of  May.  I  was  then  at  the*  northeast  corner  of  the 
stockade.     Pine  straw   was  the  only   bedding.     Ber<    8     _  ant 


•Thla  Ltwater,  unknown  to  the  Confederate  author- 

kept     a     copy     of     the     burial     list     and     brought     it     into     our 
1».  G.  J. 


156      Report  of  Anderson ville  Monument  Commission 

Donnelly  starved  to  death.  Hundreds  of  others  died  in  t lie 
same  way.  During  the  four  weeks  I  was  in  the  hospital,  twenty- 
seven  men  died  in  the  same  tenl  with  me,  where  there  were  only 
eighl  patients  ;it  a  time.  The  ground  was  alive  with  vermin,  Like 
an  anthill.  Jn  the  latter  pari  of  May,  the  hospital  was  removed 
form  the  stockade  about  half  a  mile  to  the  southeast.  I  was  de- 
tailed mi  the  15th  of  June,  L864,  by  a  Dr.  White,  and.  allowed 
the  limits  of  a  mile  on  parole,  except  in  the  direction  of  the 
stockade.  I  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  death  register,  to  keep 
the  record  of  deaths  oi*  all  prisoners  of  war.  1  remained  in  tne 
surgeon's  office  over  seven  months.  One  hundred  deaths  were 
being  daily  recorded  on  my  death  register.  They  reached  seven 
thousand  in  six  consecutive  months.  I  secretely  eopied  the  list 
of  our  dead,  and  brought  it  away  with  me,  February  25,  1864. 
It  amounted  to  twelve  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-one 
names,  from  February,  1864,  to  February  2,  1865.  Three  thous- 
and deaths  were  registered  in  the  month  of  Augu-.t,  1864. 

"Only  twenty  wagons,  with  two  mules  each,  were  provided  for 
hauling  the  food,  etc.,  and  the  dead  wagons,  with  the  putrid, 
purging  corpses  of  men  who  had  rotted  alive  from  sores,  wounds, 
erysipelas  and  other  diseasei.  These  were  driven  out  :;  j  of  a  mile 
into  the  country,  unloaded,  and,  without  cleansing,  were  driven 
to  the  slaughter-house,  reloaded  with  fresh  beef,  and  driven  back 
to  the  stockade  and  hospital.  One-third  of  the  entire  number 
of  prisoners  died  who  entered  the  stockade1.  .More  died  i:i  the 
stockade  than  in  the  hospital.  Same  rations  in  the  hospital  as 
in  the  stockade,  with  gruel  as  a  substitute  for  bread,  made  from 
mouldy  flour  in  large  iron  kettles,  without  seasoning.  The  hos- 
pital was  located  on  low  ground  near  a  swamp,  and  indifferently 
managed.  Insufficienl  shelter;  over-crowded;  medicine  given  by 
numbers.  Quinine  and  morphine,  drawn  on  requisition  for  our 
Sick,  generally  taken  by  chief  surgeons  for  their  private  prac- 
tice among  the  citizens.  There  was  at  one  lime  a  hospital  fund 
of  $120,000;  it  suddenly  disappeared.  Post-mortem  examina- 
tions showed  the  stomach  and  intestines  of  the  dead  contracted, 
and  filled  with  hulls  and  beards  of  corn. 

"The  bodies  pievious  t<>  burial  were  placed  in  the  deid-house. 
which  consisted  ol  some  upright  poles  covered  with  brush;  the 
bodies  were  laid  upon  the  ground,  exposed  to  the  public  gaze, 
the  action  of  the  element?,  and   the   ravages  of  dogs  and   rats. 


Extracts  prow  Congressional  Report  1.~>, 

When  ready  for  burial,  as  many  as  twenty-five  or  thirty  bodies 
would  be  thrown  promiscuously  into  an  army  wagon,  and  taken 
to  the  ccmentery  which  was  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  From 
the  Btockade.  At  this  point  a  long  trench,  three  feel  deep, 
would  be  in  readiness,  and  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred 
and  eighty  bodies  placed  in  each  trench.  The  bodies  were  laid 
aside,  close  together;  no  coffins  were  furnished,  and  three-quar- 

-  of  the  dead  were  buried  withoul  any  article  of  clothing 
whatever.  No  funeral  service  was  performed,  and  as  soon  as 
possible  the  trenches  were  filled  with  clay  and  a  ridge  of  dirl 
at  the  to|>  of  the  trench  denoted  each  grave,  which  was  ?•<■- 
corded  and  numbered  on  the  death  register." 

Testimony  of  Lieutenanl  Alexander  W.  Persons,  a  Confeder- 
ate officer  who  commanded  the  troops,  and  afterward  the  post, 
at  Andersonville.  He  entered  on  his  duties  there  in  February, 
;.  and  was  relieved  by  Winder  the  following  May  or  June. 
Tins  is  what  he  said  ■ 

"I  was  interested  in  a  proceeding  to  enjoin  the  rebel  authori- 
ties from  further  continuing  the  prison  a1  Andersonville.  In 
the  character  of  counsel.  I  drew  a  bill  for  an  injunction  to 
abate  the  nuisance.  The  grave-yard  made  it  a  nuisance  and 
the  military  works,  fortifications,  etc.,  made  it  highly  objection- 
able to  the  property-holders  there,  and  the  prison  generally 
was  a  nuisance,  from  the  intolerable  stench,  the  effluvia,  the 
malaria  thai  it  gave  up,  and  the  things  of  thai  sort.  After  I 
drew  the  bill,  T  went  to  see  the  judge  of  the  district  court;  T 
read  the  l>ill  to  him  for  the  injunction.  He  simply  said  that 
he  would  appoinl  a  day  on  which  he  would  hear  the  argument 
in  chambers.  He  appointed  the  day;  I  made  preparation  for 
trial  and  wenl  down,  or  was  in  the  act  of  going,  when  I  received 
an  official  communication  from  General  Howell  Cobb,  of  Geor- 
gia, in  which  he  asked  me  it'  I  was  going  to  appear.  I  suppose 
I  destroyed  the  official  correspondence  or  put  ii  away.  1  have 
doI  thought  of  it  since.  General  Cobb  asked  me  if  that  bill 
was  to  be  charged  to  me,  the  bill  against  the  government,  as 
he  termed  it.  In  reply  to  his  communication  I  wrote  him  that 
I  drew  the  hill  and  thai  it  could  !»<•  charged  to  me.  He  replied 
through  his  adjutant  general,  Major  Harrit,  thai  lie  deemed  it 
inconsistent  with  my  duty  as  ;i  Confederate  officer  to  appear  in 
a  case  like  that,     of  a   hill  a-jjiinst    the   government;   and   he 


158      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

therefore  ordered  me  1<>  be  out  of  the  case,  and  I  obeyed  the 
order.  General  Cobb  al  thai  time  commanded  the  departmenl 
of  Georgia  and  the  reserve  forces  of  the  department. 

"Before  the  prison  was  Located  there,  it  was  all  covered  over 
with  woods.  1  am  very  well  acquainted  with  the  location  of 
camps.  It  is  customary  to  locate  camps  in  shady  places.  It 
was  a  good  idea  to  locate  this  prison  in  the  woods:  such  places 
arc  usually  soughl  for,  for  shelter  for  horses  and  troops  and 
prisoners.  There  was  nothing  that  I  discovered  about  the  lo- 
cation of  the  prison  that  led  me  to  suppose  it  was  located  for 
any  had  purpose;  that  idea  had  never  entered  my  mind.  I 
know  of  the  prison's  being  enlarged  after  1  went  there.  It 
was  enlarged  after  it  was  created  for  the  accommodation  of 
ten  thousand  prisoners.  I  suppose  it  was  enlarged  to  the  ex- 
tent of  ten  or  twelve  acres;  about  one-third  more  than  it  was 
before.  The  original  capacity  of  the  prison  was  about  ten 
thousand,  but  I  did  not  think  there  should  have  been  more  put 
in  after  the  enlargement.  That  is  my  opinion.  I  am  a  mili- 
tary graduate  and  have  studied  engineering.  T  finished  my 
course  of  study,  but  did  not  take  out  a  diploma.  I  never  be- 
longed to  an  engineer  corps. 

"That  camp  was  a  nuisance  to  all  intents  and  purposes.  The 
first  reason  was,  that  the  dead  were  buried  so  near  the  surface 
of  the  ground  that  it  gave  out  an  intolerable  stench.  A  swarm 
of  green  flies  spread  like  locusts  over  that  section  of  the  coun- 
try. Then  the  filth  of  the  camp,  arising  from  different  causes, 
necessarily  concentrated  there.  That,  with  divers  other  causes, 
made  it  a  terrible  nuisance.  I  could  not  have  had  it  other- 
wise if  I  had  been  in  command  there.  If  1  had  ordered  it  other- 
wise, I  do  not  think  the  order  could  have  been  carried  out,  and 
for  this  reason :  when  that  prison  was  in  its  infancy,  in  its  very 
inception,  and  when  the  officers  were  instructed  not  to  build 
accommodations  for  more  than  10,000  men,  there  were  40,000 
I  risoners  sent  there.  Captain  Wirz  was  not  to  blame  for  that. 
The  authorities  were  responsible  for  that:  who,  1  cannot  say. 
The  great  blunder  on  the  pari  of  the  government  was  the  con- 
centration of  so  many  men  at  one  place  without  preparation 
being  made  to  receive  them.  The  authorities  were  notified  of 
the  fact,  bu1  to  no  advantage.  1  think  that  some  of  the  higher 
officials  were   responsible,  but   who  they  were   I  cannol   say.     I 


R  \<  TS    PRl  m    (  JONOR]  SSION  \l.    Rl  PORT  1  59 

senl  notifications  through  Genera]  Winder  thai  the  prison  was 
worked  beyond  its  capacity ;  thai  i1  was  a  vast,  unwieldy  thing, 
and  I  asked  him  to  send  no  more  prisoners ;  yel  they  kepi  com- 
ing. After  I  left,  there  came  10,000;  no  man  <>n  earth  could 
have  abated   the  rigors  of  thai    prison  excepl    the   man   who 

wielded    tile   poW.r  u\.T   llielll.        I    do    Hot     UlloW    that    l!i;i!l.       (iell- 

eral  Winder  was  in  advance  of  me,  and  several  others  were  in 
advance  of  him.  Aboul  thai  time  an  order  was  issued  from 
the  office  of  the  adjutant  general  and  inspector  general,  put- 
ting General  Winder  in  command  of  all  the  prisoners  easl  of 
the  Mississippi  river  giving  him  absolute  control  and  dominion 
over  them.  Thai  order  came  from  General  S.  Cooper,  adjutanl 
and  inspector  general.  I  saw  thai  order:  1  read  it  closely. 
f  it  was  aboul  this:  They  were  reorganizing 
the  differenl  prison  departments.  Some  man  was  put  in  com- 
mand on  the  other  side  of  the  Mississippi  and  General  Winder 
was   put   in  supreme  command  on  this  side." 

Upon  the  question  of  ill-treatment  at  Andersonville,  shoot- 
ing, etc.,  the  following  information  is  contained  in  a  letter  to 
Jefferson  Davis  from  a  confederate  soldier  stationed  there,  in 
June.   1864: 

First   Regiment  Georgia  Reserves, 

Camp  Sumter.  .Tune  23,    L864. 

Respected  sir:  Being  bu1  a  private  in  the  ranks  at  this 
pla<-«-.  consequently  if  I  seen  anything  to  condemn  (as  I  do  l 
have  no  power  to  correcl  it.  Yet,  as  a  human  being,  and  one 
that  helieves  thai  we  should  do  as  we  would  be  dime  by,  I 
I  roceed  to  inform  you  of  some  things  thai  T  know  you  are 
ignoranl  of;  and  in  the  firsl  place  I  will  say  thai  1  have  no 
cause  to  love  the  Yankees,  (they  having  driven  myself  and  fam- 
ily from  our  home  in  New  Orleans  to  seek  our  living  among 
strangers  yel  I  think  thai  prisoners  should  have  some  show- 
ing, lush!.-  our  prison  walls  all  around  there  is  a  space  about 
twelve  Peel  wide  called  the  dead  line.  If  a  prisoner  crosses 
thai  line  the  sentinels  are  ordered  to  shoot  him.  Now,  we  have 
many  thoughtless  boys  here  who  think  t he  killing  of  a  "Yank" 
will  make  them  great  men  :  as  a  consequence,  every  day  or  two 
there  are  some  prisoners  shot.  When  the  officer  of  the  guard 
the  sentry's  stand  there  is  a  dead  or  badly  wounded 
man  invariably  within  their  own  lines.     The  sentry,  of  course, 


L60      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Monument  Commission 

says  lie  was  across  I  lie  dead  liiic  when  lie  shot  liini.  He  is  told 
he  did  exactly  right,  and  is  a  good  sentry.  Last  Sabbath 
there  were  two  shol  in  their  tents  at  one  shot.  The  boy  said 
lie  shot  at  one  across  the  dead  line.  Nighl  before  last  there 
was  one  shot  near  me,  (I  being  on  guard).  The  sentry  said 
that  the  Yankee  made  one  step  across  the  line  to  avoid  a  mud 
hole.  lie  shot  him  through  the  bowels  and  when  the  officer 
of  the  guard  got  there  he  was  lying  inside  their  own  lines. 
lie,  (the  sentry),  as  usual,  told  him  he  stepped  across  hnt  fell 
back  inside.  The  officer  told  him  it  Avas  exactly  right.  Now, 
my  dear  sir,  I  know  you  are  opposed  to  such  measures,  and  I 
make  this  statement  to  you  knowing  you  to  be  a  soldier,  states- 
man, and  Christian,  that,  if  possible,  you  may  correct  such 
things  together  with  many  others  that  exist  here.  And  yet. 
if  you  send  an  agent  here  he  will  of  course  go  among  the  offi- 
cers, tell  his  business,  and  be  told  that  "all  is  well."  But  let 
a  good  man  come  here  as  a  private  citizen  and  mix  wTith  the 
privates  and  stay  one  week,  and  if  he  doesn't  find  out  things 
revolting  to  humanity,  then  I  am  deceived.  I  shall  put  my 
name  to  this,  believing  that  you  will  not  let  the  officers  over  me 
sec  it,  otherwise  I  would  suffer,  most  probably 

Yours  most  respectfully. 

James  E.   Anderson." 


Si    MM  AM    OP  TESTIMONY    CONCERNING    ANDERSONV1LLE      l'»1 


CHAPTER   IX 

SUMMARY  OF  TESTIMONY   CONCERNING 
ANDERSONVILLE. 

By  the  Congressional  Committee. 

It  will  be  noticed  thai  the  testimony  we  have  introduced  is 
derived  from  a  variety  of  sources,  the  principal  of  which  are 
thes< 

1.  The  sv;crn  end  unsworn  testimony  of  prisoners,  in  narra- 
tive form. 

2.  The  testimony  of  Union  officers  and  soldiers. 
•'!.  Testimony  of  rebel  officers  and  soldiers. 

4.  Testimony  of  citizens  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  Ander- 

* 

sonville. 

ST 

5.  Medical  testimony  derived  from  Union  and  rebel  sources'         ■ 

Documentary  evidence  derived  from  rebel  sources. 

A  review  of  f  his  varied  testimony  develops  a  mosl  remarkable 
characteristic  in  the  entire  absence  of  conflict.  It  docs  not. 
as  in  most  cases  of  extended  investigation,  require  the  process 
of  reconciliation  to  render  it  convincing.  If  lends  almost  with- 
out exception  to  the  Fame  conclusions;  and  among  these  are 
the  following,  sustained  hy  proofs  which,  in  directness, 
strength  and  harmony,  have  never  been  excelled  in  human 
observation  or  experience.     What  are  theyl 

1.  That  the  sufferings  of  the  Union  prisoners  a1  Anderson 
ville  have  never  been  equaled  in  intensity,  duration  and  magni- 
tude in  modern  times;  the  crimes  of  Andersonville  were  the 
crimes  of  the  enlightened  uin-  in  which  we  live.  As  it  had  no 
precedent  or  example,  so  it  can  have  no  counterpart  in  the 
future.  We  shall  not  enlarge  upon  the  Bickening  and  terrible 
details.  We  have  spread  out  the  testimony  upon  the  record; 
let  him  who  can  contradicl  it  and  search  history  for  iis  equiva- 
lent. 

11 


K 


162      Report  op  Andersonville  Moni  ment  Commission 

2.  Thai  the  causes  which  Led  to  these  Bufferings  were  qo1 
accidental  or  inevitable  in  their  origin,  bul  were  deliberately 
planned,  and  were  the  dired  results  of  human  agency,  in- 
genuity, malice  and  cruelty. 

Human  foresight,  though  i1  had  been  the  offspring  of  medi- 
ocrity, could  have  obviated  and  prevented  the  greater  pari  of 
this  terrible  suffering.  It  is  clear  thai  abundance  of  fuel,  tim- 
ber, water  and  rations  could  have  been  supplied  by  the  rebels 
themselves  with  few  and  inconsiderate  exceptions,  and,  even 
had  this  been  impossible,  the  wanl  of  the  starving  prisoners 
could  and  would  have  been  supplied  by  the  governmenl  of  the 
United  Slates  and  the  greal  organized  charitable  associations 
which  from  time  to  time  sent  supplies  through  the  rebel  lines. 
Another  remedy  could  have  been  applied, — one  which  it  was 
the  duty  of  the  confederate  government,  acting  within  the 
scope  of  military  rules,  to  resort  to, — which  was  to  parole  the 
prisoners  whom  they  could  not  properly  care  for  and  deliver 
them  at  our  lines,  or  permit  them  to  return  to  the  North,  in- 
stead of  pursuing  them  with  hounds  and  hunting  them  for  re- 
capture like  beasts  of  prey  in  the  forests  and  swamps  of  the 
South.  Bui  this  was  not  their  purpose,  nor  were  these  the 
motives  which  dishonor  the  humanity  of  the  age.  The  numer- 
ous expressions  of  hatred  and  cruelty  which  fell  from  the  lips 
of  the  rebel  officials,  their  extraordinary  punishments,  the 
deadly  assaults  on  the  sick  and  helpless,  and  the  neglect  more 
cruel  than  death  can  have  no  solution  except  in  the  deep-seated 
malice  whose  fruits  we  have  been  considering. 

3.  Thai  the  responsibility  of  these  horrors  cannot  be  re- 
stricted to  the  immediate  agents  in  charge  of  the  prisoners, 
but  rests  with  irresisl  able  weight  on  the  higher  officials  of 
the  confederate  government,  with  whose  knowledge  and  con- 
senl  they  were  perpel  rat  ed.  To  sustain  this  proposition  we 
need  only  recall  t  he  testimony  which  shows  1  he  wretch  Winder, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  the  prison  government,  to  have  been 
the  confidential  agent  and  tool  o!'  Jefferson  Davis  and  dud  ah  P. 
Benjamin,  as  well  as  other  high  officials  connected  with  the 
administration  of  the  confederate  government.  This  man  Avas 
sent.  out.  by  his  superiors,  and  from  time  to  time  he  reported  to 
them  personally  and  officially.  So  grave  were  his  errors  and 
so  greal  his  crimes  thai  subordinate  officials  implored  his  dis- 


sr  m  \i   ,;\  of  Testi  mon\  Concerning  Andersonvilie    163 

missal  or  removal  from  Ins  position,  stating  specifically,  as  the 
grounds  of  their  request,  his  cruelty  to  the  prisoners,  his  want 
of  humanity  in  their  treatment,  and  their  u 1 1 <  r  inability  to 
afford  relief  while  he  remained  in  command.  To  ;ill  this  the 
confederate  government,  with  the  lull  knowledge  of  his  char- 
acter .mikI  nets,  turned  a  deaf  ear,  ami  permitted  him  unre- 
strained to  carry  out  his  purpose  of  starvation  and  murder. 
Yet  at  this  very  time  they  were  so  tender  of  their  own  sick  that 
the  Burgeon  general  of  the  confederacy  issued  an  order  to  per- 
mit Surgeon  Jones  to  enter  apon  an  investigation  of  the  affairs 
at  Andersonvilie.  to  experiment  upon  the  prisoners  there,  to 
observe  the  effect  of  disease  upon  the  body  of  men  subjected 
to  a  decided  change  of  climate  and  the  circumstances  peculiar 
to  prison  life,  and  all  for  the  benefit  of  the  medical  department 
of  the  confederate  armies.  The  high  officials  of  the  confeder- 
acy could  send  first  (dass  surgeons  to  observe  and  experiment 
upon  these  poor  victims  in  their  captivity,  yet  found  it.  as  they 
.  inconvenient  or  impossible  to  substitute  competent  offi- 
-  for  the  protection  and  treatment  of  the  sick  in  hospital 
and  in  prison. 

Our  men  were  not  killed  or  starved  by  the  agency  of  Winder 
and  Wirz,  of  White  and  Stevenson,  alone;  but  the  civilians 
who  composed  the.  cabinet  and  were  the  advisers  of  Jefferson 
Davis,  together  with  their  guilty  chief,  must  answer  before  the 
tribunal  of  the  civilized  world  in  all  time  to  come  for  their 
share  in  these  greal  crimes. 

4.  That  these  atrocities  were  engendered  and  nursed,  di- 
vised  and  inflicted,  in  the  fell  spirit  of  slavery,  for  whose  per- 
petuity the  confederacy  was  established. 

For  the  truth  of  this  assertion  it  is  necessary  only  to  appeal 
to  history.  It  is  evident  that  none  save  those  who  had  been 
born  and  nurtured  under  the  barbaric  influence  of  slavery, 
who  wen-  accustomed  to  its  commands  and  its  cruelties,  who 
Baw  in  it  the  only  industry  worthy  of  organization,  or  entitled 
to  the  fostering  care  of  capital  and  intelligence,  were  accus- 
tomed to  the  sale,  the  whipping,  the  tortures,  and  the  burning 
oJ  human  victims,  only  such  men  could  be  ca|)able  of  sustain- 
ing a  system  of  horrors  like  that  which  existed  at  Andersonvilie. 
perpetrated  as  they  were  upon  men  of  their  own  race  and 
their  equals  in  intelligence,  in  bravery  and  in  devotion  to  the 
cause  for  which  they  fought. 


1i>4      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

.).  That  the  objecl  and  purposes  of  the  confederacy  in  these 
continued  sufferings  were  the  reduction  of  the  strength  of  the 
Union  armies  by  the  crimes  of  starvation,  infection  and  whole- 
sale murder.  This  point  needs  no  further  elucidation  than  a 
reference  to  the  testimony  itself,  and  the  official  rebel  docu- 
ments published  in  connection  with  the  report  of  the  depart- 
ment of  war  on  the  subjecl  of  exchanges. 

(5.  Thai  these  purposes  were  accomplised  at  Andersonville 
in  the  death,  during  one  year,  of  thirteen  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  twelve  Union  prisoners. 

7.  That  the  punishments,  means  of  recapture,  and  general 
treatment  of  prisoners  were  barbarous,  unnatural",  and  exces- 
sive beyond  parallel. 

8.  That  these  cruelties  and  deprivations  were  persisted  in 
by  the  rebel  authorities  after  they  had  been  warned  and  im- 
plored by  responsible  subordinates  among  their  own  officers 
for  relief,  and  when  it  was  in  their  power  to  provide  an  ample 
remedy. 

9.  Thai  the  pretenses  of  necessity  for  such  treatment  mad*'  by 
the  rebels  were  a  sham  and  an  attempted  delusion. 

Other  Confederate  Prisons. 

With  these  remarks  upon  Andersonville,  its  patriotic  yet 
unfortunate  victims,  its  brutal  officials,  and  its  unparalleled 
horrors,  we  pass  to  a  description  of  the  other  prison-houses  of 
the  confederacy.  Before  doing  so,  however,  we  give  this  de- 
scription of  the  northern  prison  at  Johnson's  Island  as 
given  by  a  rebel  surgeon,  and  published  in  the  Richmond  En- 
qui  rer : 

"The  sleeping  accommodations  were  very  comfortable,  con- 
sisting of  a  bunk  with  straw-bed,  and,  if  the  individual  has  no 
blanket,  one  is  furnished,  and  he  is  allowed  to  buy  as  many 
more  as  he  wants.  Every  room  has  a  good  stove  and  is  fur- 
nished with  a  sufficiency  of  wood,  which  the  prisoners  have  to 
saw  for  themselves  after  it  is  broughl  to  their  doors,  a  vrvy 
good  exercise,  by  the  way.  The  prison  consists  of  thirteen 
large  buildings  of  wood.  The  space  of  ground  enclosed  is 
sixteen  acres  in  which  the  prisoners  have  full  privilege  to  exer- 
cise, to  sin<j;  southern  national  songs,  to  hurrah  \'<>v  Jefferson 
I  )a\  is.  and  to  play  at   ball  or  any  ot  her  game  1  hey  may  see  fit. 


.M  m  \i;  \   < 


.rTi-i:M<»\N  Concerning  Anderson  villi      105 


"The  rations  an  exactly  tin  same  as  are  issued  to  the  garri- 
son, consisting  of  fresh  beef,  pork,  bakers'  bread,  BUgar,  coffee, 
beans,  hominy,  salt,  soap,  ;in<l  candles.  Besides  these,  up  to 
the  time  I  left,  there  was  a  Butler's  store  inside  of  the  inclo- 
suiv  from  which  we  could  obtain  any  kind  of  vegetables  or 
meats  or  nic  knacks,  if  we  chose.  We  could  purchase  any- 
thing we  wanted.  Clothing  and  eatables  were  allowed  to  l><' 
Benl  to  the  prisoners  by  their  friends  in  the  North  in  any 
quantity,  and  money  also  without  stint. 

"When  1  left  the  island,  the  excitemenl  about  the  release  oi 
prisoners  by  a  force  from  Canada  was  at  its  highest  pitch, 
necessarily  causing  the  garrison  to  be  re-inforced.  This,  com- 
ing so  suddenly,  found  the  commissary  stores  on  the  island 
deficient,  and  the  rations  for  both  prisoners  and  garrison  were 
Bomewhat  curtailed.  The  Butler  was  also  Bent  away  and  the 
prisoners  still  more  restricted.  I  hope,  however,  that  before 
this  time  things  are  pursuing  the  even  tenor  of  their  way.  and 
that  the  prisoners  are  enjoying  themselves  as  heretofore.  We 
had  the  privilege  of  writing  as  many  letters  as  we  chose  and 
when  we  chose,  subject,  of  course,  to  certain  restriction.  We 
could  purchase  writing  materials  in  any  quantity.  The  officers 
over  the  prisoners  have  at  all  times  conducted  themselves  as 
gentlemen  and  have  been  very  kind  and  lenient,  nor  do  they 
suffer  the  prisoners  to  1"-  insulted  or  abused  in  any  way." 

Reader,  please  compare  this  story  with  thus.-  of  southern 
prisons. 

Diary    of    Lucien    Holmes,    l»»th    New    Hampshire,    Salisbury 

Prison. 

Richmond,  Virginia,  November  •'».  ls<>4:  We  have  just 
drawn  two  days'  rations,  about  enough  for  one  good  meal. 

November  4.  Seventy  crowded  into  one  ear  We  are  seeing 
rough  times. 

ember  5.     At  Greensboro  about  dark;  water  very  scarce, 
indeed. 

November  'i.     Stopped  in  an  open  field  over  night  ;  hungry, 

and    almost    choked;   cold,  and   only   a    little   wood.      After  dark 

that    night    at    Salisbury,   North   Carolina.     No   rations   today, 
and  have  to  sleep  on  t he  ground. 

November  7.     Drew    a    little   rice  soii|>.   about    halt"  a   pint. 


K)i>      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

There  are  10,000  of  us  here— one  thousand  in  a  division,  one 
hundred  in  ;i  squad.     We  are  in  the  fifth  squad,  tenth  division. 

November  8.  We  have  drawn  half  a  pint  of  flour,  but  no 
salt.  No  tents  yet.  Water  very  scarce.  This  is  a  rough 
place. 

November  9.  It  rained  all  last  night.  We  had  to  lie  in  the 
mud.  We  drew,  this  afternoon,  two  tents  and  two  flies  for  one 
hundred  men,  a  pint  of  meal,  yet  no  salt.  I  am  well.  I  wish 
I  could  get  word  home.  It  is  a  shame  for  any  civilized  nation 
to  treat  men  in  this  manner — thirty  and  forty  dying  in  a  day 
and  the  dead  are  drawn  off  in  carts  just  like  so  much  wood. 
It  is  awful.     I  hope  something  will  be  done  soon  to  relieve  ns. 

November  10.  It  rained  almost  all  night;  has  been  terribly 
muddy  today.     We  drew  bread  this  morning. 

November  11.  We  drew  meat  for  the  first  time  for  a  week. 
and  drew  meal.  The  men  are  dying  off  very  fast  indeed,  and 
no  wonder,  exposed  as  we  are  to  cold  and  hunger. 

November  12.  We  drew  bread  this  morning.  I  saw  twenty- 
three  dead  bodies  in  the  dead  house.  Men  are  dying  off  fast 
from  exposure. 

November  13.  I  don't  know  what  we  shall  do  if  we  have  to 
stay  here  this  winter.  I  do  hope  and  pray  for  better  times  to 
come  soon. 

November  19.  Three  men  out  of  one  hundred  in  the  squad 
are  allowed  to  go  for  wood,  but  it  is  not  enough  to  do  us  much 
good. 

November  20.  Rained  all  night  and  all  day.  We  are  suf- 
fering everything  here.  I  wish  I  could  get  word  home  in  some 
way. 

November  21.  Still  raining.  This  yard  is  Morse  than  any 
hog-pen  I  ever  saw.     We  get  just  enough  to  eat  to  live. 

November  22.  I  wish  I  could  describe  the  misery  and  suffer- 
ing here  in  this  pen.     It  cannot  be  called  anything  else. 

November  23.  Ground  froze  solid.  I  never  before  suffered 
so  much  with  cold  as  I  did  last  night  and  today.  Ninety-six 
have  died  in  the  twenty-four  hours  past. 

November  24.  I  suppose  this  is  Thanksgiving  day  in  New 
Hampshire,  but  it  docs  not  seem  much  like  it  here.  Today 
they  gave  us  only  quarter  rations.  God  only  knows  what  is  to 
become  of  us  here,  yet  we  must  hope  for  the  best,  putting  entire 


Si    MM  Am    .■!     Ti  -  •  i  M"  •  \    COK     RRNING    AnDERSONYILLE      161 

confidence  in  our  Eleavenly  Father.    He,  only,  can  bring  us  oul 

ali\  e. 

November  25.  Only  quarter  rations  again  today.  The  men 
are  dying  fast. 

November  26.     No  more  ra1  ions  yet . 

November  27.     We  got  half  a  loaf  of  bread  today  and  some 

meat. 

November  28.  Only  quarter  rations  today.  I  would  give 
almost  anything  for  enough  to  satisfy  my  hunger. 

November  29.  A.bou1  four  hundred  enlisted  in  the  rebel 
army  today.  1  shall  have  to  be  reduced  more  than  I  am  now 
to  enlist  in  their  army.  I  aever  fell  so  weak  as  1  have  today. 
Hope  for  more  rations  soon.  I  wish  I  could  gel  some  money 
from  home  in  some  way. 

This  memorandum  was  closed  November  30,  1864.  Young 
Homes  lingered  in  Salisbury  prison  until  .January  4.  1865,  when 
he  died. 

Letter  of  Sabina   Dismukes,  a  resident   of  South  Carolina,  di- 
rected to  Jefferson  Davis. 

Stateburg,  South  Carolina.  October  12,  1864. 
Dear  Sir:     In  the  name  of  all  that   is  holy,  is  there  nothing 
that  can  he  done  to  relieve  the  terrible  sufferings  of  the  Yankee 
prisoners  at   Florence,  South  Carolina.' 

I  rach  things  are  allowed  to  continue  they  will  most  surely 
draw  some  awful  judgmenl  upon  our  country.  It  is  a  most 
horrible  national  sin  that  cannot  go  unpunished.  If  we  cannot 
give  them  food  and  shelter,  for  God's  sake  parole  them  and 
:  tin-in  back  to  Yankee  land,  hut  don't  starve  the  miserable 
creatures  to  death.  Don't  think  thai  I  have  any  liking  for  the 
Yankees.  I  have  none.  Those  Dear  and  dear  to  me  have  suf- 
fered too  much  from  their  tyranny  for  me  to  have  anything 
bul  hatred  to  them;  bul  I  have  not  yel  become  quite  brutish 
enough  to  know  of  sueh  sutlVrin<_r  withoiii  trying  to  do  some- 
thing, even   for  a   Yank> 

Yours  respeel  fully. 

Sabina  Dismul 
Respectfully   referred   l>y  direction  of  the   presidenl    to  the 
I [onorable  Secretary  of  War. 


168      Report  oi  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

Burton  N.  Harrison,  Private  Secretary. 

Headquarters  Florence  Military  Prison,  December  17,  L864. 

Respectfully  returned:  Mrs.  Dismutes  may  resl  quite  easy 
and  quiet  in  reference  to  the  treatment  of  prisoners  al  this 
prison,  for  since  I  assumed  command  (the  10th  of  October. 
1864,)  t  lie  deaths  have  decreased  from  thirty-five  and  forty  per 
day  to  one  single  demise,  which  my  hospital  and  sexton's  re- 
port show  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  I  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  prisoners  were  all  brought  here  from  other 
prisons,  and  solicit  inquiry  as  to  their  imprisonment  or  still 
further  degradation,  and  challenge  any  prison  in  the  confeder- 
acy, taking  everything  into  consideration,  for  health,  cleanli- 
ness, neat  looking  prisoners,  neat  burial  grounds,  etc.  They 
are  given  everything  the  government  issues  to  them. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

John  F.  Iverson, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Commanding. 

Note. — This  statement  is  a  pure  fabrication,  as  I  was  in 
Florence  prison  from  the  time  it  was  established  until  Feb- 
ruary 17th.  There  was  hardly  a  day  but  that  a  score  or 
more  died,  as  the  number  of  graves  will  testify.  The  colonel 
probably  meant  that  there  was  only  one  man  shot  by  guards 
on  some  days,  yet  that  was  very  seldom. — D.  6.  J. 

Such  in  October,  1864,  was  the  condition  of  the  prisoners  al 
Florence  as  viewed  from  a  southern  standpoint.  To  suppose 
or  to  ask  any  intelligent  man  to  infer,  in  the  face  of  this  evi- 
dence, that  the  rebel  authorities  had  no  knowledge  of  the  star- 
vation and  murder  of  our  soldiers,  would  be  an  insult  to  human 
understanding.  They  did  know  it;  they  could  have  prevented 
it ;  for  it  appears  that  the  rebel  guards  on  duty  suffered  for 
none  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  were  subjected  to  no  hard- 
ships save  that  of  being  agents  and  spectators  of  these  foul 
and  unnatural  murders.  It  is  to  be  feared  that,  to  many  of 
them,  the  sight  and  the  service  could  hardly  be  called  a  hard- 
ship. 

Clothing. 

The  custom  which  prevailed  among  the  rebel  captors  and 
officers  of  robbing  a  prisoner  of  his  clothing  al  the  time  of 
capture,  rendered  his  destitution  in  this  respect  truly  deplora- 


si  mm  Am  of  Testimony  Concerning  A.ndersonville    L69 

ble  during  imprisonment.  This  destitution  of  clothing,  where 
the  prisoner  was  without  shelter,  was  <w\r  of  the  mosl  fruitful 
Bources  of  disease  and  deal  h. 

The  entire  absence  of  all  necessity  or  excuse  for  this  desti- 
tution  is  found  in  the  fad  that  the  rebel  guards  were  well  and 
comfortably  chid.  Since  the  rebels  had  enough  for  their  own 
men,  why  not  something  for  their  prisoners,  againsl  whom  all 
hostilities  should  have  ceased  when,  as  captives,  they  laid  down 
their  arms.  No  record  has  ever  been  found  to  show-  thai  the 
rebel  authorities  ever  issued  to  their  prisoners  clothing  from 
their  own  stores.  Nor  is  this  all.  There  is  abundant  evidence 
that  they  not  only  took  the  clothing  from  the  persons  of  prison- 
3,  hut  when  hlankei  ,  and  clothing  were  sent  in  quantities  to 
the  larger  Stockades  and  prisons  by  the  Sanitary  and  Christian 
.missieii>  of  the  north,  these  things  were,  with  few  excep- 
tions, withheld  from  the  prisoners,  and  used  by  the  confeder- 
ates, jusi  as  the  commandants  took  a  notion  to  do.  It  is 
true  there  were  « »xc< 'I >t i oiis.  eases  where  officers  were  not  quite 
brutal  enough  to  execute  with  fidelity  the  intention  and  orders 
of  Jefferson   Davis  and  his  agent,   Winder. 

A  noticeable  feature  in  the  distribution  of  these  supplies  of 
clothing  and  blankets  was  the  custom,  common  to  most  of  the 
prisons,  of  withholding  them  until  within  a  day  or  two  of  an 
exchange.  Then,  or  just  as  a  body  of  prisoners  was  starting, 
the  issue  would  be  made.  What  was  the  result.  The  prison 
or  many  of  them,  feeling  sure  of  speedy  relief  under  the 
protection  of  their  own  flag  and  among  anxious  and  waiting 
friends,  were  easily  induced  to  barter  the  articles  which  they 
had  just  received  for  scanty  supplies  of  food,  for  which  they 
had  been  so  long  famishing. 

There  can  be  no  doubl   that   the  prisoners  would  have  I n 

spared  much  excruciating  suffering,  and  thai  the  lives  of  many 
heroic  men  would  have  been  saved,  had  the  distribution  of 
clothing  and  blankets  and  other  comforts  been  faithfully  car- 
ried out.  Bui  it  was  far  otherwise.  Numerous  boxes  contain- 
ing clothing  and  food  were  forwarded  by  the  immediate  friends 
of  the  prisoners.  Before  they  were  delivered,  the  persons  for 
whom  they  were  intended  were  required  to  receipl  \'*>v  them. 
When  the  pretended  delivery  took  place  it  was  usually  found 
thai  the  box  or  package  had  been  robbed  of  its  most  valuable 


]<o      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

contents  and,  in  most  cases,  neither  box  nor  package  came  to 
the  hand  of  the  prisoner.  Ai  several  prisons  the  arrival  of 
such  supplies  was  made  known  to  the  prisoners  by  the  rebel 
guards,  who  would  appear  upon  their  posts  with  the  uniforms 
and  blankets  fresh  and  new,  bearing  the  stamp  of  the  United 
States  or  of  the  Sanitary  Commission.  To  enable  the  reader 
to  form  some  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  prisoners  were 
supplied  through  the  agencies  referred  to,  the  following  lisl 
of  articles  sent  by  the  Sanitary  Commission  to  one  prison, 
Andersonville,  from  July  to  November,  1  <S64,  is  submitted: 


Stores  Sent  to  Prisoners  a1  Andersonville,  Georgia. 

5,052 

wool  shirts 

50  pillow  cases 

6,993 

wool  drawers 

258  bed  sacks 

3,950  handkerchiefs 

122  combs 

601 

cotton  shirts 

100  tin  cups 

1,128 

cotton  drawers 

2  boxes  tinware 

2,100 

blouses 

4,092  pounds  condensed  milk 

4,235 

wool  trousers 

4,032   pounds  condensed  coffee 

1,520 

wool  hats 

1,000  pounds  farina 

2,565 

overcoats 

1,000  pounds  corn  starch 

5,385 

blankets 

4,212  pounds  tobacco 

272 

quilts 

24  pounds  chocolate 

2,120 

pairs  of  shoes 

3  boxes   lemon   juice 

110 

cotton  coats 

1   barrel  dried  apples 

140 

vests 

1 1 1  pounds  crackers 

46 

cotton  trousers 

60  boxes  cocoa 

534 

wrappers 

7,200  pounds  beefsteak 

69 

jackets 

paper 

12 

overalls 

envelopes,  etc. 

817 

pairs  slippers 

pepper 

3.147 

towels 

mustard 

5,43] 

wool  socks 

1  box  tea,  70  pounds 

This  statement  is  sworn  to  by  Doctor  M.  M..  March,  agent  of 
the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission  at  Beaufort,  South 
Carolina,  as  being  a  correct  list  of  articles  transferred  to  same 
agent  deputed  by  the  confederate  government  to  receive  them. 
The  testimony   adduced   compels   the   conclusion   that    in    the 


si  MM.\m  of  Testimony  Cokckrning  Andbbsonville    1  #  I 

matter  of  clothing  the  rebel  authorities  acted  with  the  same 
disregard  of  the  comfort  and  health  of  the  prisoners,  and  with 
ilir  same  intention  to  incapacitate  them  for  active  service  in  the 
future,  thai  characterized  their  conduct  with  reference  to  fuel, 
waici-.  shelter  and  ral ions. 

Iv  \'i  IONS. 

This  term  embraces  all  thai  in  military  service  constitutes  the 

daily  food  and  drink  of  the  soldier. 

The  rations  issued  by  the  United  Stales  to  their  prisoners  of 
war,  previous  to  June  I,  1864,  were  the  same  in  quantity  and 
quality  as  those  issued  to  the  troops  in  garrison,  viz: 

Bread,  18  ounces  j>«t  ration:  or  corn  meal,  20  ounces  per 
ration. 

Beef,  1  pound  per  ration,  or  bacon,  or  pork,  ::i  pound  per 
ration. 

Beans,  8  quarts  per  1<><>  men:  or  hominy  or  rice,  1"  pounds 
per  1<>()  men. 

Sugar,  14  pounds  \)i-v  1<>o  men. 

Rio  coffee,  7  or  9  pounds  per  1<><>  men. 

Adamantine  candles,  5  per  LOO  men;  or  tallow  candles  (> 
per  100  men. 

Soap,  4  pounds  per  1<><>  men. 

Salt.  2  quarts  per  LOO  men. 

Molasses,  4  quarts  per  !<>')  men.  twice  per  week-. 

Potatoes,  1  pound  per  man.  three  times  per  week. 

When  beans  were  issued,  hominy  or  rice  were  not  issued. 

These  were  the  rations  to  which  the  prisoners  were  entitled. 
Bread  was  issued,  in  point  of  fact,  and  not  corn  meal.  Fresh 
beef  was  issued,  during  this  time,  four  limes  a  week.  "When 
fresh  beef  was  issued,  a  pound  and  a  quarter  was  given.  These 
were  supplied  to  prisoners  in  well-sheltered  quarters;  they 
were,  also,  well  clothed  and  bountifully  supplied  wilh  blankets 
and  fuel.  Confederate  ration  a1  Andersonville :  Corn  meal 
unbolted  9  ounces;  beef,  1  ounces;  bacon,  4  ounces;  peas,  1  16 
of  a  quart;  rice,  1  ounce;  soft  soap.  1  32  of  a  drachm;  salt. 
1    100  quart  ;  molasses,  1   ::»><>  of  a  quart. 

These  were  supplied  to  prisoners  almost  totally  destitute  of 
shelter,  fuel,  blankets  and  clothing. 


L72      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

Afici-  June  1.  L864,  the  United  States  issued  to  their  soldiers 

the  same  as  before,  hut  the  amount  given  i<>  lie'  prisoners  was 

as   follows  : 

Pork  or  bacon,  K>  ounces  (in  lieu  of  beef);  fresh  heel*,  11 
ounces;  Hour  or  soft  bread,  16  ounces;  hard  bread,  11  ounces 
(in  lieu  of  flour  or  soft  bread);  corn  meal,  1(5  ounces  (in  lieu 
of  Hour  or  bread).  To  every  100  rations,  beans  Or  peas,  121/* 
pounds;  or  riee  or  hominy,  8  pounds;  soap,  4  pounds;  vinegar, 
3  quarts;  salt,  *>:''i  pounds;  potatoes,  15  pounds.  Sugar  and 
coffee,  or  tea,  was  issued  only  to  the  sick  and  wounded,  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  surgeon  in  charge,  at  the  rate  of  L2 
pounds  of  sugar,  5  pounds  of  ground  or  7  pounds  of  green 
coffee,  or  1  pound  of  tea,  to  the  hundred  rations.  This  part  of 
the  ration  was  allowed  for  alternate  days  only. 

At  Andersonville,  the  same  wagon  which  wras  used  for  haul- 
ing out  the  naked  and  festering  dead  brought  back  the  rations 
for  the  living.  A  load  of  dead  bodies  covered  with  vermin,  and 
foul  from  decomposition,  Avas  replaced  by  a  load  of  meal  or 
corn  bread,  without  even  the  attempt  to  sweep  or  cleanse  the 
wagon.  As  a  consequence,  shreds  of  clothing,  vermin,  mag- 
gots, and  filth,  loathsome  and  indescribable,  were  found 
mingled  or  incorporated  with  the  food  of  the  prison.  11  seems 
incredible  that  such  food  could  have  been  eaten  at  all  by 
human  beings,  yet  the  testimony  of  a  hundred  witnesses 
proves  that  the  pangs  and  madness  of  hunger,  so  terrible  al 
times  as  to  force  men  to  the  horrors  of  cannibalism,  here  had 
its  perfect  work,  and  that  the  wretched,  starving  inmates  of 
Andersonville  and  Richmond  prisons  seized  on  the  sickenim: 
and  pestilent  mass  with  avidity;  and  were  even  driven,  by 
their  insatiable  craving  for  food,  even  to  still  more  disgusting 
expedients.  "Would  to  God  this  had  been  the  sum  of  their  terri- 
ble necessities.  But  hunger  swept  before  its  terrible  pangs  all 
decencies  and  antipathies  alike.  To  such  extremity  were  they 
driven  that  the  morning  found  them  fighting  and  struggling 
with  each  other  to  obtain  the  food  that  had  passed  undigested 
through  the  bodies  of  their  weaker  comrades  during  the  night, 
while  the  flesh  of  rats  and  dogs  was  devoured  as  a  luxury. 
Not  only  was  the  quality  thus  unsuitable  and  loathsome,  but 
the  quanl iiy  insufficient. 


Si  *M\m  r>p  Testimony  Concerning  Andersonvtlle    17:) 

At  Andersonville,  in  1864,  a  day's  rations  consisted  of  a 
piece  of  corn  bread  three  inches  square  and  two  inches  thick. 
m\  in  lieu  thereof,  a  pint  of  unsifted  cornmeal,  with  about 
three  tablespoonfuls  of  beans.  Occasionally  a  small  piece  of 
beef,  which  would  make  about  two  mouthfuls  when  cooked, 
w  as  issued  in  lieu  of  beans. 

According  to  the  best  medical  authorities,  the  amount  of 
solid  Pood  required  to  maintain  a  man  in  good  health  is  from 
thirty-eighl  to  forty-two  ouncea  every  twenty-four  hours.  The 
ration  of  the  rehel  prisoners  in  our  hands  amounted  to  about 
forty-three  ounces,  and  the  ration  of  the  Union  prisoners  in  the 
hands  of  the  rehela  fell,  in  some  cases,  as  low  as  five  or  six 
ounces;  and  never,  save  at  rare  intervals,  exceeded  eighteen 
ounces:  the  usual  ration  varying  between  these  extremes.  The 
principal  and  almost  universal  result  of  the  continued  use  of 
corn  meal  by  the  Union  prisoners  was  to  produce  diarrhea  in 
its  worst  forms.  Hardly  a  prisoner  was  (vi^-  from  it.  Aggra- 
vated by  the  water  and  general  onhealthful  condition  of  the 
prisons,  this  dis<  -  ssumed  its  worst  characteristics,  and  was 
one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  unparalled  mortality  which 
prevailed. 

There  is  some  special  testimony  in  regard  to  the  sufficiency 
ot*  supplies  within  the  limits  of  the  confederacy.  Major 
William  K.  Tracy,  who  was  attached  to  the  commissary  depart- 
ment ot*  General 's  division,  testified  on  the  Gee  trial  at 

Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  that  he  was  with  the  command  at 
Salisbury  <>n  the  12th  of  April,  1865,  and  that  they  captured 
100,000  bushels  ot'  com.  60,000  pounds  of  bacon,  100,000  pounds 

salt,  20,000  pounds  of  Bugar,  27,000  pounds  of  rice,  50,000 
bushels  ot'  wheat.  30,000  pounds  of  corn  meal.  100.000  pounds 
of  flour,  together  with  barrels  of  whiskey,  boxes  of  wine,  and 
a  lar<_r<-  quantity  of  hospital  supplies,— enough  to  last  the  sick 
a  long  time.  Within  the  hospital  Major  Tracy  found  a  large 
supply  of  sugar,  coffee,  and  various  other  hospital  stores. 

The  sanitary  condition  of  Dearly  all  the  rehel  prisons,  for 
the  entire  period  of  the  war.  may  he  summed  np  in  a  single 
sentence,  filth,  filth,  loathsome,  disgusting  and  pestilential 
tilth. 


174      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

The  Patriotism  op  Prisoners. 

h  is  one  of  the  most  pleasant  and  satisfactory  duties  of  your 
committee  to  call  special  and  distind  attention  to  the  patriotic 
and  self-sacrificing  devotion  of  our  officers,  soldiers  and  sea- 
men, who  were  so  long  prisoners  of  war.  It  was  a  devotion 
and  patriotism  that  with  the  greal  mass  of  these  heroic  men 
no  trials  and  no  sufferings  could  conquer.  Disease  and  death 
in  every  form  were  constantly  before  them,  and  made  terribly 
manifest  in  thousands  of  examples  wrought  upon  their  com- 
rades under  the  most  trying  circumstances,  and  by  the  appli- 
cation of  innumerable  cruelties,  zealously  and  recklessly  prac- 
ticed by  their  captors,  and  the  officers  of  their  prisons  as  well 
as  by  their  guards.  Our  prisoners  felt  and  knew  that  they  were 
the  victims  of  a  cruel  and  well-defined  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
rebel  authorities.  Isolated  from  the  influences  of  their  own 
friends,  suffering  continued  torture,  and  exposed  to  the  hate- 
ful influence  of  the  false  representation  of  their  enemies,  they 
at  times  distrusted  the  justice  of  their  own  government,  and 
felt  as  if  it  had  deserted  them  in  the  hour  of  their  direst  need. 
They  believed  that  our  government  knew  their  forlorn  and 
terrible  condition,  and  were  impressed  with  the  conviction 
that  it  might  and  should  interfere  for  their  protection  and  de- 
livery from  their  torment.  They  understood  that  the  rebel 
prisoners  in  our  hands  were  treated  according  to  the  rules  of 
war  which  prevail  among  civilized  nations,  and  they  believed 
that  retaliation  would  restore  them  to  the  same  condition. 
Death  was  their  constant  companion  and  the  only  friend  that 
could  reach  them  with  relief.  They  were  greatly  reduced  in 
physical  strength,  while  the  enfeebled  condition  of  their  minds 
would  seem  to  have  prepared  them  for  the  acceptance  of  any 
terms  or  favor  from  the  rebels  that  promised  present  relief. 
Tt  was  under  the  terrible  prcssue  of  this  state  of  affairs  that 
the  perfidy  of  the  confederate  authorities  manifested  itself  in 
the  attempt  to  seduce  them  from  their  fidelity  and  allegiance 
to  their  own  government.  They  had  pressed  the  sufferings 
of  their  captives  to  the  bitterest  extremity,  preparing  them 
for  the  final  trial  by  depriving  them  of  food  for  one  or  more 
successive  days.  Tt  was  then  that  they  came  to  their  victims 
with  promises  of  kind  treatment  and  release  from  sufferings. 
They  profferd  plenty  of  food   to  the  hungry,  and  sufficient  cloth- 


si  d mary  op  Testimony  Concerning  Andersonville    175 

ing  to  ilf  naked.  They  offered  the  pure  air  of  heaven  for 
the  pestilential  vapors  of  tin'  prison  pen.  They  assured 
them  of  liberty  in  exchange  for  the  most  terrible  captivity  to 
which  man  had  ever  been  subjected.  The  price  of  1  li is  ex- 
change h 'as  an  abandonment  of  the  service  of  their  own  coun- 
try, an  abrogation  of  their  allegiance,  and  employment  in  civil 
life,  or  in  the  ranks  of  their  enemies.  It  was  against  these 
lion  like  temptations  and  these  terrible  ordeals  that  the  virtue 
and  patriotism  of  our  suffering  soldiers  stood  proof.  In  the 
very  bitterness  of  their  suffering  they  scorned  the  bribe  and 
cursed  the  offer.  As  we  have  said,  we  speak  here  of  the  great 
mass  of  the  union  soldiers.  Exceptions  there  were,  yet  they  were 
comparatively  inconsiderable.  "Under  the  terrible  pressure  of 
their  sufferings  only  one  out  of  every  sixty  joined  the  rebel 
forci  - 

Retaliation. 

The  government  of  the  Tinted  Slates  during  the  whole  course 
of  the  war  fully  recognized  the  principle  that  a  nation  must 
not  do  violence  to  its  civilization  or  shock  the  moral  sense  of 
its  individual  members,  whether  eiti/ens  or  soldiers.  Retalia- 
tion is  allowed  in  war,  yet  its  infliction  and  effects  must  have 
a  limit.  Qnder  this  rule,  of  course,  it  cannot  always  be  <rov- 
erned  by  those  savage  cruelties  which  arc  the  occasion  of  its 
exercise.  Woolsey  tells  us  thai  retaliation  in  war  is  sometimes 
admissable;  for.  if  one  belligerent  treats  prisoners  harshly,  the 
other  may  do  the  same.  And  this  is  placed  upon  the  ground 
self-protection,  and  to  secure  the  greatest  amount  of  human- 
ity from  unfeeling  military  officers.  But  there  must  he  a  limit 
to  the  pule.  Mr.  Stanton,  as  secretary  of  war.  contemplated 
and  even  ordered  retaliation  for  cruelty  to  prisoners  in  the 
hands  of  the  rebels.  On  the  9th  of  November.  1863,  he  or- 
dered our  commissioner  of  exchange  to  "subject  the  rebel  pris- 
oners in  our  hands  1<>  treatment  similar  to  that  which  our  men 
receive  in  rebel  prisons."  The  commissioner  replied  that  to 
retaliate  in  kind  would  result  in  an  uprising  of  the  prisoners 
against  the  guards  at  Camps  Morton  and  ('base,  and  most 
likely  at  other  prisons,  and  that  under  any  ordinary  system  of 
guards,  human  nature  would  not  endure  such  treatment.  The 
Order    was    not    ratified    by    the    United    Stales    government    and. 

of  course,  was  not  carried  into  effect . 


176      Report  of  A\m crson^  i'.i.i:  Monument  Commission 

It  is  a  singular  fad  that  no  con i'<>« l.-t-.-i t <■  officer  was  ever 
punished  or  prosecuted  for  cruelty  to  prisoners.  Ob  the  other 
hand,  the  mosl  cruel  agents  were  retained  Longest  in  its  service. 
The  names  of  Cobb,  Winder,  Ould,  and  Wirz  pise  prominently 
before  us  in  this  connection.  These  were  among  the  men  long- 
est in  the  confederate  service  and  connected  with  the  deparl 
nienl  under  whose  charge  the  prisoners  were  immediately 
placed. 

Tin.   Guiltv    Knowledge  op  the   Confederate   Authorities. 

Whatever  may  have  been  their  means  of  knowledge  in  the 
early  part  of  the  war,  the  conditions  at  Andersonville  and 
other  prisons  in  .1863-64  were  fully  known  to  the  higher  con- 
federate authorities.  Tin4  public  journals,  north  and  south, 
spread  the  knowledge  of  their  conditions  broadcast  through- 
out every  portion  of  the  land.  Not  only  the  prisoners  commu- 
nicated by  letter  to  friends  and  foes  the  enormities  practiced 
upon  the  captives,  but  the  conscience  stricken  guards,  as  well 
as  the  citizens  of  the  South,  communicated  the  facts  directly 
to  Jefferson  Davis.  The  letter  of  Mrs.  Disunites,  the  letter  of 
the  guard,  Anderson,  and  others,  are  among  the  prominent  evi- 
dences. The  witness  N.  B.  Harold,  resident  at  Americus,  Geor- 
gia, who  was  a  purchaser  and  shipper  of  supplies  for  the  com- 
missary department  of  the  rebel  government,  tells  us  in  his 
testimony  that  the  suffering  condition  of  the  prisoners  was 
generally  known  through  the  country:  was  frequently  talked 
aboul  everywhere.  The  people  in  the  country  around  Ander- 
sonville and  other  prisons  visited  them  to  learn  their  condi- 
tion, pronounced  them  nuisances  and  soughl  the  aid  of  the 
law  for  abatement  ;  while  at  the  same  time  these  remedies  were 
opposed  by  officials  like  Howell  Cobb,  who  was,  of  course,  in 
direct  communication  with  the  authorities  a1  Richmond.  The 
conduct  of  Winder  was  brought  officially  to  the  notice  of  Davis 
and  his  cabinet  and  his  removal  attempted,  yet  he  was  subse- 
quently promoted  to  command  all  the  prisons  east  of  the 
Mississippi.  In  addition  to  this  we  have  the  long  line  of  re- 
ports of  surgeons,  commanding  and  inspecting  officers,  and. 
in  fact,  of  all  classes  officially  connected  with  the  management 
of  the  prisons,  stating  fully  and   officially  their  condition  and 


si  mmari    >f  Testimony  Concerning  Andersonville    177 

insist iiiLT  in  the  Dame  of  justice,  and  for  the  reputation  of  their 
government,  upon  measures  of  relief.  We  have,  upon  the  in 
dorsement  of  these  official  reports,  the  clearest  evidence  of  their 
ptioD  and  consideration  by  the  confederate  authorities  al 
Richmond.  These  official  documents,  with  their  indorsements, 
prove  two  facts;  and  these  two  facts  cover  the  whole  ground 
of  mi!  argument  concerning  the  terrible  condition  of  prisons 
and  prisoners,  as  well  as  the  complete  knowledge  of  the  con- 
federate authorities  of  that  condition.  We  call  attention  to  the 
partial  list  of  these  reports  of  rebel  officials: 

1.  Report  of  Major  General  Bowell  Cobb,  May  6,  1864. 

2.  Report  of  Surgeon  E.  J.  Eldridge,  May  6,  1864 

3.  Report  of  Captain  Wirz,  May  8,  1864. 

4.  Report  of  Captain  Wirz.  July  and  August,  1864. 

5.  Report  of  General  Winder,  July  21,  1864. 
Report  of  Surgeon  S.  S.  Hopkins,  August  1.  1864. 

7.   Report  of  Surgeon  Isaiah  White,  August  2,  1864. 
B.   Reporl   of  Colonel  D.  T.  ('handler,  August  5,  1864,  with 
eighteen  Lnclosur  - 

•    Report  of  J.  Crews  Pelot,  September  5,  1864. 

10.  Report  of  Surgeon  H.  R.  Stevenson,  September  20,  1864. 

11.  Report  of  Dr.  Joseph  Jones,  September  20,  1864. 

The  perusal  of  these  reports  will  convince  the  reader  of  the 
terrible  condition  of  the  prisons,  the  protracted,  unrelieved 
Bufferings  of  their  inmates,  and  the  uncompromising  demand  of 
humanity  for  their  relief, — all  derived  from  rebel  sources  and 
from  rebel  officials.  These  reports  were  made  in  the  ordinary 
routine  of  the  service,  and  took  their  direction  toward  the 
rebel  capital  for  the  inspection  and  examination  of  the  eon- 
federate  government!  That  they  reached  their  destination  in 
sufficient  cumbers  to  have  carried  with  certainty  and  convic- 
tion the  awful  nature  of  their  contents  to  the  president  of  the 
confederacy  and  his  cabinet,  the  indorsements  fully  show.  In 
fact,  the  detail  of  Colonel  Chandler,  the  rebel  inspecting  offi- 
cer, was  made  upon  complaints  which  had  reached  Richmond 
of  the  condition  of  Union  prisoners  at  the  South.  His  report, 
with  its  eighteen  inclosures,  passed  through  the  usual  military 
channel  to  the  office  oi  the  adjutant  general,  and  to  the  secre- 
tary of  war.  James  A  Seddon.  It  will  be  recollected  thai  one 
of  the  most  important  recommendations  of  that  report  was  the 
12 


L78      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

removal  of  General  Winder,  on  the  ground  that  some  person 
who  united  energy  and  judgment  with  Peelings  of  humanity 
and  consideration  \'nv  the  welfare  and  comfort  of  the  prisoners. 
and  who  would  not  "advocate  deliberately  and  in  cold  blood 
the  propriety  of  leaving  them  (the  prisoners)  in  their  present 
condition  until  their  number  lias  been  sufficiently  reduced  by 
death  to  make  the  present  arrangement  suffice  for  their  ac- 
commodation, ' '  should  be  assigned  to  this  place. 

This  recommendation,  with  the  evidence  upon  which  il  was 
based,  reached,  in  due  official  form,  the  headquarters  of  the  con- 
federacy at  Richmond.  It  was  accompanied  by  a  mass  of  evi- 
dence, official  and  irrefutable  in  its  character,  of  the  necessity 
of  action.  What  was  the  effect  of  this  frank  and  fearless  rec- 
ti in  in  endat  ion  upon  those  authorities?  "Was  it  such  as  to  alle- 
viate the  horrors  which  Colonel  Chandler  says  "it  is  difficult 
to  describe,  and  which  is  a  disgrace  to  civilization?"  Instead 
of  this,  General  Winder  was  soon  after  that  promoted  by  the 
order  of  Davis  to  be  commissary  general  and  commander  of  all 
military  prisons  and  prisoners  throughout  the  confederate 
states  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

Let  us  examine  a  little  more  in  detail  the  history  of  these 
reports.  The  first  in  order  is  that  of  General  Howell  Cobb, 
made  more  particularly  upon  the  question  of  furnishing  the 
necessary  guard  for  the  protection  of  the  prison  at  Anderson- 
ville; but  in  which  we  are  told  that  the  prison  is  too  much 
crowded,  and  no  additional  prisoners  should  be  sent  until  it 
can  be  enlarged ;  that  the  increase  in  number  would  effect  a 
terrific  increase  of  sickness  and  death  during  the  summer 
months,  and  recommending  the  building  of  a  new  prison  be- 
cause of  a  lack  of  water  for  any  increased  number  of  prisoners 
at  that  point;  and  speaking  in  generous  terms  of  the  manage- 
ment of  Colonel  Persons,  then  in  command  of  the  prison,  but 
who,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  soon  afterward  removed  by 
the  authorities.  The  report  of  Cobb  inclosed  a  report  of  Sur- 
geon  E.  J.  Eldridge,  in  which  lie  described  the  prison  as  too 
much  crowded  even  at  that  early  day  for  the  promotion  or 
continuance  of  the  present  health  of  the  prisoners.  These  re- 
ports, as  appears  by  the  indorsemenl  upon  them,  were  received 
at  the  confederate  headquarters  at  "Richmond,  May  26,  1864. 
Thus  curly  were  the  confederates  warned  of  the  conditions 
and  requirements  of  the  prisoners  at  Andersonville. 


Si    If  MARY  OP  TESTIMONY    CONCERNING    AnDERSONVILLE      1<!> 

Again,  the  report  of  Colonel  Chandler,  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  dest •  ri  1  m n «_:  al  greal  Iciilti Ii  the  condition  and  require 
ments  of  the  prison,  dated  Augusl  5,  L864,  with  its  inclosures, 
bo  important  and  conclusive,  reached  the  office  of  Samuel 
per,  adjutant  and  inspector  general,  Angus!  18,  1^,;i 
Upon  this  report  he  indorsed  the  following  statement:  "The 
condition  of  the  prison  al  Andersonville  is  a  reproach  to  us 
as  a  nation."  and  immediately  forwarded  it  to  the  secretary  of 
war,  with  the  further  remark  "Colonel  Chandler's  recom- 
mendal ions  arc  concurred  in, " 


1^<»      Report  of  ANDERsoNvriiLE  Monument  Commission 


<  HAPTEB  X. 

MORTALITY  AMONG  PRISONERS  OF  YVAK. 

Bethany,  Mo. 

What  was  the  death  rale  among  prisoners  on  both  sides 
Union  and  Confederate — during  the  laic  war?  — W. 

Answer. — Accompanying  Ihis  inquiry  is  a  clipping  from 
"Medical  Classics. "  August,  1887,  in  the  form  of  an  article  or 
pari  of  an  address  by  Howard  Henderson.  I).  I)..  LL.  I).  In 
this  the  following  statements  are  made: 

"It  ought  to  be  better  known  by  this  time,  that  a  larger  per- 
centage of  Confederates  died  in  Northern  prisons  than  of  Fed- 
erals in  Southern.  At  Anderson vi lie  the  mortality  was  1-36 
a  month,  that  is,  1  out  of  each  1,000.  At  Blmira,  X.  Y.t  1-25 
of  the  prisoners  died.  At  Anderson ville  the  rate  was  '■>  and  at 
Elmira  4  per  cent.  Three  per  cent  more  "rebels''  perished  in 
Northern  prisons  than  of  Federals  in  Southern  prisons.  The 
report  of  Secretary  of  War  Stanton  (.June  19,  1866,)  shows  that 
22,576  Federals  in  Confederate  hands  died  during  the  war  and 
26,436  Southerners  in  Union  custody.  Surgeon  General  Barnes 
officially  reports  220,000  as  the  number  of  rebels  in  Federal 
prisons,  270,000  Federals  in  Confederate  prisons.  Twelve  per 
cent  of  the  former  and  nine  per  cent  of  the  latter  died  in 
prison." 

In  answer  to  all  of  these  official  reports  as  to  the  number  of 
deaths  in  Southern  prison,  I  have  been  able  to  gather  the  fol- 
lowing figures  by  actual  count  from  twelve  of  the  prison  ceme- 
teries in  the  South  : 

Anderson  ville     12.960 

Salisbury 12.148 

Danville 13.2:5 

Richmond     6,576 

Charleston    389 

Florence    *3,017 

MUlan    685 

Cahaba    117 

Montgomery    198 

Atlanta     124 

Marietta    189 

Brought  from  .Macon  and   buried  at  Andersonville s,,i 

Total    38,560 

The  804  broughl  from  Macon  to  Andersonville  increases  the 
number  of  gTaves  there  to  1.'5.7(J4. 

*  At  Florence  many  of  (lie  dead  were  buried  in  ]>lts  and  could  not  be 
accounted  for. 


Mortality    Among    E^isoners  op   War 


181 


Mortality  "i    nil    Inmates  oj    Anderson  villi    is  Compabed  with  thai 
,»i    mi    Mosi    Noted  Twelvi    Prisons  oh    uh    Nobth 

Prom  March  l.  L864,  to  April,    L865. 

Deaths  in 

Pria  No.  Confined.      Prison. 

Alton.    Ill 1,615  180 

Camp  Chase,    Ohio 13,349  L,819 

Camp    Douglas,    111 L3,311  !.:•■ 

Morten.     Ind 6,0l  815 

Blmira,    X.    V 12,  L23 

Ft.    Delaware    L4,219  924 

Johnson's    island    >29  77 

Louisville,    Ky 22,025  51 

Xash\  ill*.    Teno 21,  075 

New  Orleans,  La 1,456  1,918 

Rock    Island,    ill 10,731  L,516 

Point    Lookout.  Md 18,815  1,918 

Total    175,811  L2,9 

Andersonville    52,345         L2,912 

1  i  ficial  records  show : 

188,  145  captured  by  the  rebels. 
476,169  captured  by  the  United   States. 

Here  we  Bee  thai  of  175,811  prisoners  confined  in  the  north- 
ern prisons,  the  mortality  was  12,960,  or  7  1-3  per  eenl  of  the 
whole;  while  for  the  same  period  there  were  confined  in  An- 
dersonville 52,345  prisoners,  with  a  mortality  of  1 2 . '. » 1 2 .  or 
24  2-3  per  cent  of  the  who].-. 

These  figures  are  taken  from  the  number  of  graves  a1  An- 
dersonville, and  from  the  records  kepi  by  a  federal  sergeant. 
All  are  known,  excepl  425,  which  fact  makes  the  records  un- 
refutable. It  was  this  that  was  so  obnoxious  to  the  so-called 
Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  who  expressed  their  desire  to 
wipe  out  all  the  unpleasant  things  aboul  the  late  unpleasant- 
So  the  Wisconsin  commission  caused  the  kind  words  of 
Genera]  Grant,  "Lei  us  have  peace,"  to  he  inscribed  <>n  the 
Wisconsin  monument. 


The  Wirz  Monuw  i 
After  this  was  all  accomplished,  the  so-called  Daughters  of 
the  Confederacy  <>t*  Americus,  Georgia,  caused  a  monumenl  t<> 
In-  erected  in  the  village  of  Andersonville,  Georgia,  1«»  com- 
memorate the  memory  <»t"  Captain  Wirz.  They  must  regard 
the  memory  of  their  ancestors  with  much  pride  when  they  can 
know  the  vile  purpose  that  Captain  Wirz  would  consign  them 
t<».  because  they  sympathized  with  and  desired  i<»  relieve  the 


L82      Report  of  Andersonvjlle  Monument  Comw 


ission 


Bufferings  of  a  mass  of  persecuted  humanity.  Could  their 
mothers  rise  Prom  their  resting  places,  I.  think  they  would  be 
proud  of  their  off-spring  who  would  debauch  them  for  the  pur- 
pose of  insulting  the  \oy<\\  people  of  all  sections.  But  we  are 
glad  to  say  thai  the  best,  women  of  the  south  who  were  old 
enough  to  remember  the  things  thai  were  enacted  during  those 
days,  and  the  brave  survivors  of  the  southern  army  who  were 
on  the  firing  line,  have  most  emphatically  denounced  the 
methods  of  the  leaders  who  were  responsible  for  the  treatment 
accorded  their  prisoners,  and  they  have  made  it  manifest  both 
by  words  and  writings.  They  entered  a  protest  against  their 
dastardly  work  yet  to  no  avail. 

On  the  I'aee  of  this  monument  is  inscribed  the  following: 
"IN  MEMORY  OP 
MAJ.  HENRY  WIRZ,  C.  S.  A., 
BORN  IN  ZURICH,  SWITZERLAND. 

"Tried  by  illegal  court-martial*  under  false  charges  of  exces- 
sive cruelty  to  federal  priosners,  sentenced  and  judicially  mur- 
dered at  Washington,  D.  C,  Nov.  10,  1865. 

"That  the  United  States  government,  not  Maj.  Wirz,  is 
chargeable  with  the  suffering  at  Andersonville,  there  is  abund- 
ant proof  furnished  by  friend  and  foe.  Let  the  fact  that  he 
chose  an  ignominious  death  rather  than  bear  false  witness 
against  President  Davis,  speak  for  his  high  qualities  of  honor, 
fortitude  and  self-sacrifice. 

"To  rescue  his  memory  from  the  stigma  attached  to  it  by 
embittered  prejudice  and  ignorance,  and  to  restore  it  to  its 
rightful  place  among  men,  the  Georgia  Division  of  the  Qnited 
Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  has  raised  this  shaft." 

Every  sentence  in  this  inscription  is  absolutely  and  unquali- 
fiedly false.  In  the  first  place,  the  trial  was  as  legal  and  for- 
mal as  anything  judicial  connected  with  the  war  could  be.  The 
court  was  composed  of  the  most  distinguished  men,  men  in 
whom  the  public  then  had,  and  still  has,  the  highest  esteem 
and  confidence.     The  order  for  the  court  shows  this. 

*See  page  191. 


Mortality    Among    Prisoners  of   War.  Is-; 


Letter  from  a  Soul  hern  Woman. 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  a  southern  woman  and 
published  in  the  National  Tribune,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  She 
tells  plainly  and  forcibly  whal  Bhe  thinks  of  this  monumenl  to 
Wirz: 

Editor  National  Tribune:  1  am  a  southern  woman,  raised 
not  a  greal  distant-.'  from  Andersonville,  and  I.  want  to  return 
thanks  to  the  ex-confederate  soldier  who  recently  expressed 
the  sentiments  of  all  right-  thinking,  Christian-hearted  people 
over  the  smith  on  the  subjed  of  the  Wirz  monument  movement. 
A  blacker  and  more  disgraceful  blol  aever  stained  any  soil 
than  that  Andersonville  prison,  and  it  is  indeed  humiliating  to 
realize  thai  there  are  within  the  borders  of  our  fair  Southland 
women  who  are  anxious  to  brand  themselves  with  such  a  stigma 
as  raising  a  monumenl  to  so  heartless  a  brute  as  Wirz  is  known 
to  be  by  thousands  of  Southern  and  Northern  men  alike.  The 
Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  are  to  be  pitied  for  the  lack  of 
information  that  would  bring  to  their  fair  cheeks  the  Idush  of 
Bhame,  it'  these  young  women  knew  the  truth  as  it  is  aboul 
Andersonville  prison  and  the  horrible  sufferings  inflicted  by 
Wirz  on  those  helpless  prisoners.  There  is  near  by  an  ex-Con 
federate  soldier,  who  was  one  of  the  guard  at  Andersonville 
prison,  who  says  a  more  unprincipled  villain  than  Wirz  never 
Lived.  God  grant  thai  they  may  stop  and  consider  the  lighl 
they  are  placing  themselves  in  before  the  whole  world,  and  also 
consider  the  interests  of  the  country  generally  and  of  Atlanta 
specially,  and  put  thai  money  to  relieve  the  real  needs  of  the 
Confederate  veterans  and  widows,  and  thereby  win  for  them- 
selves the  now  doubtful  respecl  of  all  honorable  people 
throughout  this  and  other  countries.     A  Southern  Woman. 


1.84      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 


CHAPTER   XL 

NAMES    OF    WISCONSIN    SOLDIERS    BURIED    AT    NA- 
TIONAL CEMETERY,  ANDERSONVILLE,  GA. 

Numbeb  of  Dead   fhom    Different   Wisconsin   Regiments. 

First   Wisconsin  Infantry. 

No.  Name  Company  Date   of    Death 

8 .  576  Batchelder,  J I Sept.    12,  1864 

1 ,  341  Bowen,   Henry    A May     24,  186^ 

8,105  Chase,   G.    M Corp.  A Sept.       7,  1864 

4.390  Chapel,  E E July    31,  1864 

10,771  Davis,    John    B Oct.  10,  1864 

6,236  Farrow,  Wm A Aug.  30,1864 

3,164  Gutch,    H D July  11),  1864 

11,927  Hanson,    M B Nov.  8,1864 

1  .  273  Harvey,    D.    N I June  6,  1864 

1,002  Haskins,    J E July  31,.  1864 

1 ,  165  Kummett,    J H May  16,  1864 

2,981  McKinsey,  D F July  7,  1864 

1 ,  896  Mulligan,   J B June  15,  1864 

3,511  Pickett,   Thos.    B Corp.  F July  ,18,  1864 

12,242  Randall,   P.    D K Dec.  8,1864 

3,503  Shoop,  W ' G July  18,1864 

3,661  Tucker,  C.   P I July  16,  1864 

9 ,  484  Woodworth,    W.    B H Sept.  21,  1864 

9,938  Vick,    J H Sept.  28,1864 

Second  Wisconsin  Infantry. 

No.  Name  Company  Date   of    Death 

5.453  Allen,   C.    B G Aug.    12,  1864 

2,009  Baumgartner,    Baltis    K June    15*1864 

8.641  Bushee,    C.    C B Sept.    12,1864 

2.663  Chapman,  J G June     29,  1864 

4 .  343  Sharp,    J.    H G Tuly    30,  1864 

8, 500  Troutman,  Anton    K Sept.    12,  1864 

Third   Wisconsin  Infantry. 

No.                 Name                                     Company               Date   of    Death 
3,624     Ramsader,   H G July    20,  1864 

Fifth    Wisconsin   Infantry. 

No.                 Name                                     Company                Date   of    Death 
6,377     Messer,  F K Aug.     21,  18(64 


\Visconsin  Soloiers  Bi  hied  \t  National  Cbmeteri      L8i 


nsin  Infantry. 

\  Name  Company 

I  I;ikI\  .   Eugene   s E 

ill's}     Johnson,    W    L H 

3     Tomlinson,   Robert    B. 

Vetter,    Juliua    F 


Date   of    Death 
.  ,Peb.       •"..  L866 
.  .Opt     21i   L8M 

.  ..inn.'    28,   L864 
.  .July      :».   L864 


,;    11   n  on  sin  Infantry. 

\  Nam.'  Company 

17     Agan,  John    \ 

2,055     Ball,   Henry    \ 

12,032     Blakely,   Robert    F.  . 

Church,   Alfred    II  .  . 

i  Irane,    R I).  . 

10,346     Crowning,   II C. 

12,618     Frost.    A B 

Fortney,  Geo.    W C. 

l  ,260     Fuller,  Chas.   W Corp.   E    . 

::.  178     Gillette,   Jerome    H  .  . 

3,009     Lack,  Peter   B.. 

10,213     .Mills.   Elijah    Corp.   B. 

Palmer,  John    Corp.  C  .  . 

J60     Rice,   .Jacob    C. 

68     Schlosser,  John  .1 Corp.  F.. 

78     Wendt,  Charles    B.. 

Aleck  R E. . 


Date   of 
.  .Aug. 
.  .June 

. .  Nov 

..July 
.  .July 

.  .Oct. 
.  .Feb. 
.  .Mch 
.  ..May 
.  .July 
.  .July 
.  .Oct. 
. .  May 
..Sept 
.  .  M!ar. 
.  .July 
...May 


Death 
0,   L864 

I  86  1 
L864 

is.;  i 

1864 
L864 
L865 

is*;  i 

1864 
1864 
L864 
L864 

I  sCl 
1864 

1st;  l 
1S6| 


p;. 
L5, 
L2, 

1'::. 

12, 
21, 

IT, 


2, 

12, 
27, 

l'.». 
16, 


7,  1864 


No. 
5,00' 


Name 
shey,   Win 


Eighth   Wisconsin  Infantry. 

Rank 


Dale    of    Death 
..Aug.        8,  1864 


No. 

L0,830 

11,610 

2,  151 

:..  164 

2,  128 
11,734 

11.741 
11,020 

1 .  529 

1,542 
5,312 


w  gi  onsin  In  fantry. 

Nine  Company  Date    of    Death 

Adams.   P A Oct.       12,  1864 

Batterson,  Lewis   I) K Oct      28,  1864 

Banner,  B.   F Corp.  I June    25,  1864 

Bemia,    H C Aug.       9,1864 

Burke,   .1 F Ajug.    30,  1864 

Bowen,    Harlan    II F June     is.    1  s»;  | 

Bentler,    M K Nov.      2,1864 

Clark.    W.    F F Nov. 

Coburn,  w A Oct 

Cowles,   i> B July 

Ellen  wood,  Sidney   Sgt.  C Sept. 

men,  P.  M C Oct 

Gilbert,   Oley     Sgt  l> rune 


Crasls,.   Fi  ederick    I . 

Fountain.    X.    II A 

Hand.    (I D 

Hangle,   B.  F Corp.  K . 

Hewick,   Nelson B 

Howard,   F    i'. K 

[ngraham,    .1 K, 

•  in.     Elobt F. 

Lansing,  <  I A 

McClurg,     \      ] 

Mortit  s.    i» I) 


2,  1864 

19,  L&64 
6,  1864 

12,  L864 

13,  L864 
U,  1864 

june     24,  1864 

June     28,  L864 

Jan.      16,  L865 

27,  1864 

2,  L864 

11,  L864 

13,  1864 

1,  1864 

24,  1864 

20,  L864 
IS,  1864 


June 
Aug. 
Aug. 

Aug. 
Aug. 
Aug 
Aug 


L86  Report  oi  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

6,090  Nichols.   Win I Afligj.     IN.    L864 

1,980  Northam,    S.    R C A.ug.       7,   1864 

9,014  Plinter,    II Sgt.  F Sept.    L6,  1864 

7,530  Purdee,    J E3 Sept.      1,1864 

1,340  Purely.  M 10 Inly     30,1864 

L3.225  Rambaugh,  JohD K Oct.    25,  *1864 

3,665  Reynolds,  F.   S K luly    20,1864 

6,088  Robinson,   \V.   M Corp.  C Aug.    18,1864 

Tune    18,  1864 

no  Schrigley,   H I Api*.      8,1864 

1.37s  Smith.    \V.   H B luly      21,  1864 

3,583  Sutton,  J B July      19,  1864 

1  1  .  420  Tyler,   E.    B F Oct.     22,  1864 

3,375  Tyler,    J Corp.  A luly    16,  11864 

2,894  Weaver,   H H luly     '4,  1864 

1  1 .  :'.!)0  Volts,  F Corp.  F Oct!.    2::,  1 864 

Twelfth    Wisconsin    Infantry. 

No.  Name  Rank  Date   of    Death 

9,739  Dascey,    Geo Corp.  1 Sept.    24,1864 

12.245  DuRochie,    Win H Dec.       8,   1864 

12.  167  Harris,    Nicholas D July    25,  1864 

12.111  Whalen,  Moses D Nov.    21,  1864 

Fifteenth    Wisconsin  Infantry. 

Xo.  Name  Rank  Date  of  Death 

L0,919  Bjornson,   Nils     Oct*.    14,1864 

2,683  Broness,   Olaves    G Oct.     10,  1864 

1,870  Brunstead,  Geo    C Sgt.  A June    30(,  1864 

1  ,838  Burke,    Ole   O B Aug.       6,  18G4 

L0,685  Britton,   Harvey    Sgt.  B Tune    11,  1864 

11,088  Christianson,  Tobias A Oct.       18,1864 

2,419  Bnger,    Gens K June    24,  186£ 

6 .  1 60  Erickson,i    Christopher B Aug.    19,  1864 

L0,234  Fegan,  Michael    I Oct.      2,  1864 

7,355  Grund,    Lars I Aug.    31,1864 

10,691  Grunderson,    Hans    Sgt.   1 Oct.      11,1864 

3.720  Holderson,    Ole F July    21,1864 

2 .  :;S4  Hanson,    Jens K Tune    23,  1864 

1 ,  655  Hofland,    Halvor    11 Sgt.  K Tune      4J,  1864 

7,649  Hanson,    Lars B Sept.       1,1864 

2,003  Jacobson,    Ole Corp.  D June     15,  1S64 

2,498  Knudson,  Christian    K June    26,1864 

8,886  Johnson,    O.    B F Sept.    16,  1S64 

7.  522  Larson,    Made.s B Sept.      1,  1864 

9,997  Lodegard,  Elias     A Sept.    28,1864 

It).  289  Myhre,    Simon    A 1 Oct.       3,   18-64 

I.2S9  Nelson,    K K July    30,  1864 

1 1 .  93]  Olsem    Michael B Nov.      !».  1  8/6  1 

3,162  Olson,      Ole B Tuly    11,1.864 

2,847  Peterson,     Axel Corp.  K Tuly      3».  1864 

9 ,  902  Peterson,    Simon Corp.  1 Sept.     27,  1 864 

7,893  Peterson,     Syver K Sept.      5,  1864 

9, 461  Peterson,    Ole I Sept.    20,  1864 

2,814  Steffs,  Reinhart    F July      3,  1864 

12.374  Thompson,    Charley    K Tan.       1,1865 

9,664  Torgeson,    Torger    Sgt.  G Sept.    24,1864 

2,309  CJpdell,   .1.   S B Tune    22,  1864 


Wisconsin  Soldiers  Bi  ried  \t  National  Cemetery      18' 


Sixteenth    Wisconsin   Infantry. 

N                  Name                                 Company                 I  >ate  of  I  >eath 

143     Stan-.    Edmund F Lug.  26,  L864 

cnteenth  Wisi  onsin  Infantry. 

N                  Nam.'                                 Company                  Date  of  Deatb 

"i     Burwick,    S I  \uu  in.   L864 

6,406     Purvis.    Thomas F Lug.  22,   L864 

Eighteenth   Wisconsin  Infantry. 

No                   Nam.'                                        Company                     I  >ate  of    Death 

13,266     Alexander,     Elisha A June  15,   L862 

12,987     Hartwell,    Stephen P July  25,*1862 

12,999     Hoard,    Z I) Aug.  22,   L862 

irittrn.    Stephen D rune  L7.T1862 

Twenty-first  Wisconsin  Infantry. 

\.                 Name                                  Company                  Date  of  Deatb 

;i     Abbott,  Alfred   Sgt.   I) Vuu.  9,   L864 

7,755     Borden,    Eugene    Corp.  K Sept.  4,  1864 

11,535    Chamberlain,  Jas.    A 1 Oct.  27,1864 

U8     Currier,    Cyrus   C Corp.  F Sept.  21,   L864 

CummingS,    Solomon     A hil.y  II.    1864 

8,587     Depas,     Anthony A Sept.  U'.  1864 

ix,687     Ehlinger,    Peter K Oct  30,1864 

Greenman,   David    K inly  13,  1864 

Tio     Hale,    Channing    A 1 Apr.  22,1864 

168      Hair.   Amos     \V I Aug.  21,1864 

7,791      Harding,     Wilson     II Sgt.  C Sept.  1.1864 

1,133     Kellett,    .John    B Corp.   B Inly  27,   L864 

10,692     Knowles,    Henry 1) Oct.  11,1864 

11,963     Mulaskey,  Chas.    E R Nov.  8,   1864 

Orendo,     Moses A Sept.  9,   1864 

•  son,     Jacob A Sept  L3,   L864 

1,486     Pelton,   Andrew   .1 Corp.  A Lug.  l,   1864 

1,497     R                  - I Aug.  7.   L864 

2,028     Ransh.     Andrew F June  16,1864 

-     Scott,    Egbert    .) Sgt.   D Aug.  ll.   is.;i 

7. fin     seaman,    Mead    11 Sgt.   D Sept.  23,   1864 

11,037     Smith.   Aioert    M Corp.  G Oct.  LO,   L864 

2,148     Turney,   Samuel    W I) June  L8,   L864 

,1,693     Waller,    Samuel    I? G rune  7.   L864 

•l     Winchester,    G I rune  26,   L864 

Twi  nty- fourth    Wisconsin   Infantry. 

Name                                 Company                 Date  of  I >eath 

2,113     Alwynes,    John E runej  16,  1864 

73     Bruse,    Henry II rune  20»,   L864 

12,653     Ferguson,    W.     R J) Feb.  i  I.  l£64 

4,405     Kull.    Ludwig C Inly  31,1864 

1,752     Mangan,    .las Corp.  H rune  10,  186  I 

5,043     Murray,    .1 D Aug.  8,1864 

3,07s     Selfert,    Alois C  July  9,1864 

1,436     Sheehan,  John   Corp.  II July  30,  1864 

11,475     Thorson.    Peter G Oct  5,1*64 

12,626     Wesson,    Alex A Lug,  20,   L864 


[88        KiroivT  OF   ANDERS0NVIUJ3   MONUMENT  COMMISSION 


Twenty-fifth  Wisconsin  Infantry. 

No.  Name                                Company                 Date  of  Death 

1.177     Austin,    tsaac i> Aug.  1.   L864 

5,565     Bailey,    W.    H.    H Corp.   E Aug,  13,  1864 

7.7:.!i     Boyle,    Peter D Sept.  4,1864 

L2.750     David,    I).    P B Mar.  8^1865 

8.584     Heigh,    M E Sept.  12,  1864 

5,628     Holenbeek,    Amos   .1 I) Aug.  14,  1864 

9,808     Irwin,    Alex C Sept.  26,1864 

11,812     Randies,     John I) Nov,.  4,1864 

4,467     Taylor,  Albert  R VZ Aug.  1.    L864 

4,706     Wakefield,    Thomas  S Corp.  K Aug.  4,   L864 


Twenty  sixth   Wisconsin  infantry. 

No.                 Name                                     Company                   Date  of  Deatii 

5,830  Distler,    Fred G Aug.  16,1864 

2 ,  522  Domkoehler,    Ernst I June  26,  1 864 

12,286  Eengelhardt,,    Henry C Dec.  14,  1864 

303  Held,    Carl H Apr.  1,  1864 

4, 570  Holz,  Asmus    C Aug.  20,  1864 

10.536  Knein..    Francois Corp.  E Oct.  8,  1864 

8.944  Laich,    Fritz    K Sept.  30,  1864 

11 .  545  Oehlke,    Franz    E Oct>  27,  1864 

9.693  Schneider,  Magnus    Corp.  E Sept.  24,1864 


No. 
9.337     Erricson,    S 


Thirtieth    Wisconsin   Infantry. 
Name  Company 


Date  of  Death 
D Sept.    20,  1864 


No.  Name 

12,721     Antone,    C. 


Thirty-first  Wisconsin  Infantry. 

Company  Date  of  Death 
D Mar.       4,  1865 


No. 


Thirty-second  Wisconsin   Infantry. 
Name  Company 


12.25©     Grapp,    W. A  . 

8.562     Kendall,    W G 


Date  of  Death 
Nov.  23,  1864 
Sept.    12,  1864 


Thirty-third   Wisconsin  Infantry. 


L0,369     Neff,    W I 


(X-t. 


1864 


Thirty-sixth    Wisconsin  Infantry. 


No. 

8,692 
7,295 
7.455 
6.967 

12,286 
6,614 
9,063 
5,739 
3,625 
3,120 

i  ,  . 236 
6,097 
::.  127 


Name 
Adams,   Arthur    F. 

Bagley,    .las 

Davis,    John    F. .  . . 


Company 

G 

I 

B 


Dick,    Benjamin G 

Englehardt,   Henry    G 

Goom,    John G 

Kruger,     Win G 

Main,     Henry F 

.McLaulin,    ('has I 

Thompson,     Darwin B 

Thurber.     Daniel Corp.   G 

Tichenor,   E.     D Sgt.   H A>igf 

Vanderbilt,   John    W D Sept 


Date 

Sept. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Aug. 

Dec. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

July 

July 

o,t 


of  Death 

2,  1864 
26,  1864 

1,  1864 
25,  1864 
14,  1864 
22,  1864 
17,  1864 

20,  1864 
L'n.  1864 

!),  1864 

21,  1864 
18),  1864 
10,  1864 


Wisconsin  Soldiers  Buried  \t  National  Cemeteri     189 


First    Wis<  onsin    Cavalry 


I 
:..  LOO 

5,102 
3,244 

5,811 
12,848 

7.  149 

5,  163 
1,614 

8,51 5 

! 

1,882 
7,160 

■ 

. 1 . 520 
1,909 
1,007 


Compt 


Sgt. 
Sgt 


Name 

b,   Irn  in    •  ■  •  • 

BriggB,    B 

Brook,    Edwin    

Hudson.     John     P 

Castle,    ciias 

Cavanaugh,   John    

John 

Duffy.    Edward 

Fish.    Israel    P 

Fluno,    0»  ar 

Greenwalt,    M 

1  [ansen,   Knud    

Hodgson,    C.    H 

Hunter,    Wesley    W 

Hntchlns,    Barley    K 

Loosey,    John 

McCormick,    Bbenezer    

IffcFadden,    Hugh 

Klllipe,   Chas.     H 

Miller,    Curtia    G 

Norton,    Henry    i> 

Pillsluiry.    Adoniram    .J 

ECasmussen,  Jorgen  

Richmond.    Byron Sgt 

Slingerland.    John 

Thorn,    Peter    E 

Toy,    Thos 

Vanscoter,    E.  (i 

Weghist,    O.    H 

Ward.    Blexia   J 

Welcome,   Eben.    D 

Welton,    Moses 

Wilder.    John    W 

Winchell,    Seth 

Winters,   Perry    


Date 

lug 

tug. 

rune 

Aug. 

Oct 

tug. 

L     Fuly 

L  . June 


.    L 

.  l. 
H 
L 

.(' 
u 


tug. 

Aug. 

Aug. 

. .  .  .Feb. 

Inly 

Aug. 

....  Aug. 

rune 

July 

Aug. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

.....May 

Sept. 

.  .  .  .Aug. 

Defc. 

Aug. 

....  Aug. 

Tune 

Sept. 

Tuly 

Tan,. 

L June 

L Tune 

F May 

D Oct. 

M May 


II 
H 
C 
F 
B 
M 

E. 

L. 

L- 

I.. 

E- 

K 

K- 

H. 

L- 

L. 

L  • 

L. 

II  ■ 

E. 

L. 

C. 


11. 

21, 

9, 

11'. 
9. 


of  Death 
L864 
L864 
L864 
1864 
L864 
is*;  i 
L864 
l  m;  j. 
1  86  l 
1 86  I 
L864 
1864 
L865 
1864 
1864 
1864 


::. 
,16, 
15, 
i::, 
28, 
10, 

1, 
29, 

6. 
9. 


1864 
1864 
L864 

1864 
8,*186.> 
11,  1864 
1864 
1864 
1864 
1864 
1864 
1864 
1864 
L865 
1864 
1864 
1864 
1864 
1864 


20 


15, 

6>, 

19, 

29, 

24, 

10, 

6, 

1, 

1, 

13, 

10, 

3- 

5, 


ond  H'/.v  on8in    Cavalry. 

No.  Name  Rank  Date  of  Death 

k.   Lynn    B C Tuly    19,  1864 

Matthewson,    Eugene E Aug.      6,1864 


Fourth    Wisconsin  Cavalry. 

Name                                          Rank                  Date  of  Death 

Brown,    John H Tuly  13,  1864 

Fiiriiuiii.    W     B K Oct.  21,  1864 

Merrill,     ("has. K Nov.  4,  1864 

Albert     D K Ot.  17,1864 

Levi F Sept.  8,  1864 

Plum,   Albert    A K June  26,  1864 


No. 


n. mi: 
8,168     Smith 


No. 
7,081 


Third   Wisconsin   BatU  ry. 

Name  Rank 

Decker,   Gasherie    Sgt. 

I  [awley,    Thos 

Livingston,    Jas.    II 

M.Mahon,    \V 


Date  of  Death 
Sept    11.   L864 

.Aug  2&  L864 
12,   L864 

.July       1.  1864 


L90      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

Records  kepi  by  men  caniiol  always  be  correct.  The  unfortu- 
nate circumstances  under  which  the  above  names  were  recorde-i 
made  it  almosl  certain  thai  ninny  mistakes  would  be  made. 
Oreal  pains  have  been  taken  to  verify  the  facts  concerning  every 
death  here  recorded,  still  there  are  many  eases  of  uncertainty. 
The  record.  Faulty  as  it  must  be,  is  nevertheless,  approximately 
sorrect,-    much  better  than  none. 


Number  of   Deaths   from    Vabious   Wisconsin   Organizations. 

Infantry. 


1st 
2d    . 
3d    . 

:,th 

6th 

7th 

Nth 

10th 

ll'th 

i:>tii 

16th 

17th 

l.sth 

L'lst 

24th 

25th 

26th 

30th 


19 

3 1st    . 
32d    . 
33d    . 
36th 

1st   . 

1 

f> 

•) 

1 

1 

1 

...     l :: 

1 

17 

1 

39 

c<tr<tlr)/. 

4 

2d     .  . 

2 

32 

4th    . 

Third 

I'nkn 

6 

1 

2 

4 

25 

Bath 

)\VI1       . 

Total 

Artillery. 
ry     

4 

la 

'> 

10 

253 

The  last  recorded  death  at  Andersonville  was  that  of  Knud 
Hansen,  Company  P,  1st  Wisconsin  Cavalry,  April  28,  1865, 
eleven  days  after  the  confederates  abandoned  the  place.  They 
left  Hansen  and  thirty-two  others  sick  there  in  the  so-called  hos- 
pital. As  no  record  was  kept  after  his  death,  we  have  QO  means 
of  knowing  whal  became  of  the  others. 


CXTRACTS    PROW    THE    TRIAL   OF    CAPTAIN    Wii:/  I'.M 


CHAPTER  XII. 

EXTRA(  TS  KROW  THE  TRIAL  OF  CAPTAIN  W'll; 

\  special  Military  Commission  is  hereby  appointed  to 
meel  in  this  city  .-it  11  o'clock  A.  M .  on  the  23rd  day  of  August, 
1865,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  practicable,  for  the  trial  of  Henr> 
W'iiv  and  such  other  prisoners  as  may  be  broughl   before  n. 

Detail  for  the  (  '<>.m  mission. 

M;ij.  Gen.  Lew  Wallace,  United  States  Volunteers. 

Brevet   Maj.  Gen.  (>.  Mott,  United  Stales  Volunteers. 

Brevel  Maj.  Gen.  J.  W.  Geary,  United  States  Volunteers. 

Brevel  Maj.  Gen.  L.  Thomas,  Adjutanl  General  United  Stales 
Army. 

Brig.  Gen.  Francis  Fessenden,  United  States  Volunteers. 

Brig.  Gen.  E.  S.  Bragg,  United  States  Volunteers. 

Brevel   Brig.  Gen.  John  F.  Ballier,  Col.  98th  Penn. 

I5r.-v.-t  Col.  T.  Allcock,  Lieut.  Col.  4th  X.  Y.  Art. 

Li. -lit.  Col.  J.  II.  Stibbs,  12th  Iowa. 

Col.  X.  P.  Chipman,  additional  aide-de-camp,  .Indue  Advo- 
cate of  the  Commission,  with  such  assistants  as  he  may  select 
with  the  approval  of  the  Judge  Advocate  General. 

K.  D.  Townsend,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

Chargi 

Charge:     Maliciously,  wilfully,  and  traitorously,  and  in  aid 

of  the  then  existing  armed  rebellion  againsl  the  United  States 

of  America,  on  or  aboul  the  first  day  of  March,  A.  I).  1864,  and 

on  divers  other  days  between  thai  day  and  the  tenth  day  of 

April,  1865,  combining,  confederating,  and  conspiring  together 

with   John    II.    Winder,    Richard    B.    Winder,   Joseph    White, 

W.  s.  Winder,  R.  R.  Stevenson,  and  others  unknown,  to  injure 

the  health  and  destroy  the  lives  of  soldiers  in  the  military  serv- 

r  the  close  of  the  wax  Captain  Wirz  was  tried  by  court  martial 
for  his  Inhuman  treatment  of  our  unfortunate  P  ft1  Anderson- 

\  ill- 


102      Report  op  Andersonvtlle  Monument  Commission 

ice  of  the  United  States,  then  held  and  being  prisoners  of  war 
within  the  lines  of  the  so-called  Confederate  States  and  in  mili- 
tary prisons  thereof,  i<>  the  end  thai  the  armies  of  the  United 
States  mighl  be  weakened  and  impaired;  in  violation  of  the 
laws  and  customs  of  war. 

TESTIMONY  IN  SUPPORT  OF  THE  FOREGOING  CHARGES. 

Testimony  of  Lieutenanl   Prescotl  Tracy. 

"I  am  in  1  be  military  service  of  the  United  Slates.  T  was 
commissioned  last  year.  My  previous  position  in  the  army 
was  sergeant.  I  was  taken  on  the  22nd  of  June,  1864,  in  the 
last  charge  we  made  on  Petersburg.  I  was  taken  to  Anderson- 
ville,  I  think  it  was  the  last  of  June  of  thai  year.  I  was  put  in 
the  stocks  when  I  got  there  by  Captain  Wirz.  I  was  in  there 
until  August  17th  of  the  same  year,  I  was  pretty  nearly 
starved  to  death. 

"I  saw  the  prisoner  very  often.  I  never  saw  him  commit  acts 
of  cruelty  upon  prisoners  himself,  but  1  saw  him  give  the  or- 
ders to  do  it, — to  shoot  a  man.  I  could  nol  give  the  day  ex- 
actly.    I  know  that  it  was  a  AVednesday.     That  is  all   I   know. 

"In  the  month  of  August,  the  man  was  shot.  His  name  was 
Roberts.  I  cannot  tell  what  regiment  he  belonged  to.  lie  was 
what  we  called  a  'fresh  fish,'  just  come  in  by  the  north  gate; 
and,  not  knowing  the  rules  and  regulations,  he  went  to  take 
a  drink  at  the  creek,  and,  it  being  muddy  there,  he  slipped  and 
fell  in  so  that  his  head  went  about  six  inches  inside  the  dead- 
line Captain  Wirz  was  behind  me,  perhaps  the  distance  of 
this  room  or  a  little  more.  He  halloed  to  the  sentry,  "G — d 
d — n  your  soul,  why  don't  you  shoot  the  Yankee  s — n  of  a 
b — h  ?  That  was  the  expression  lie  made  use  of.  The  senti- 
nel fired  and  shot  the  man  through  the  top  of  the  head,  and  the 
ball  came  out  at  Hie  hack  of  his  neck.  The  sentry  did  not  say 
anything  at  the  time;  he  only  just  fired.  I  lay  down,  for  T  was 
afraid  of  getting  shot  myself.  This  was  in  August,  the  fore 
pari  of  August.  The  man  did  not  live;  he  died  right  in  tin1 
creek,  and  we  pulled  him  <>n1  and  buried  him  that  same  after- 


Extra*  ps  prow  thi    Trial  of  Captain   Wirz  19.1 

William    Dillard,  confederate  Boldier,  on  duty   as  guard   al 
Andersonville,  testifies  as  follows: 
'•|    had   ;ni  opportunity   of  observing   the   condition   of  the 
cade,  and  the  men  in  it.     Ii  was  very  bad;  it  was  as  nasty 

as  could  be.  t^n  one  occasion  I  saw  one  man  lying  there;  he 
had  not  clothes  enough  on  to  hide  his  nakedness.  His  hip  bones 
were  worn  away;  he  had  put  up  two  sticks  and  fastened  his 
coat  over  them  to  keep  the  sun  off  his  face.  There  were  a 
d  many  lying  down  sick  and  others  waiting  on  them.    There 

was  a  very  bad  smell,  and  I  suppose  it  was  caused  by  lie' 
crowded  state  of  the  men  and  the  lilthiiiess  of  tin  place.  I 
have  smelt  it  at  the  depol  al   Andersonville,  hah'  a  mile  from 

t  lie  stockade. 

"The  food  furnished  the  prisoners  was  very  rough.     1  recoi- 
led one  evening,  when  we  were  going  on  guard,  we  were  all 

stopped  in  front  of  the  north  gate  of  the  stockade  to  divide  the 
men  off  into  separate  reliefs;  ;i  wagon  load  of  peas  or  beans, 
as  they  called  them,  was  going  in  and  had  stopped  near  us,  and 
they  smelt  so  had  that  the  hoys  told  Hie  driver  to  move  on. 
One  of  the  guard  asked  the  black  driver,  'Uncle,  what  are  yon 
going  to  do  with  those  peas?'  'I  am  going  to  take  them  in- 
side.* said  the  man.  'Hell.'  said  the  guard,  'no  man  can  eai 
them,  they  smell  too  had.'  The  wagon  drove  off  into  the 
prison,  the  driver  saying,  'perishing  men  will  eat  anything.' 
The  stream  thai  passed  through  Hie  stockade  ran  down  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  Georgia  regiments  and  Furloir's 
battalion.  I  know  where  the  bake-house  was  situated.  All 
the  washings  from  it  went  righl  through  the  stockade,  also 
the  wash:ngs  from  the  camp.  The  'pits'  used  by  the  men 
were  not  five  steps  from  the  stream.  I  have  passed  them  many 
times.  I  had  means  of  observing  from  my  sentry  post  the 
condition  of  the  stream  inside  the  stockade.  It  was  very 
muddy  for  a  length  of  time,  and  it  became  more  so  after  a 
while.  Sometimes  when  it  was  rainy  it  was  thick  with  mud 
and   tilth   from  the  draininirs  of  the  camp." 

This    witness    also    testifies    thai    he    had    seen    several    lots    of 
men  in  the  chain  gang,  sometimes  as  many  as  twelve  in  number. 


13 


]:»(      Report  of  Andersonyille  Monument  Commission 

Ambrose  Spencer,  of  Americus,  Georgia,  residing  during 
the  war  aboul  nine  miles  Prom  Andersonville,  was  a  witness  al 
the  trial  Wirz  and  testified  as  follows: 

"I  visited  Andersonville  during  its  occupation  as  a  prison 
very  frequently.  1  saw  the  prisoner,  Captain  Wirz.  very  fre- 
quently. I  was  there  nearly  every  month,  I  think,  during  the 
time  it  was  a  prison.  I  doubt  whether  a  month  elapsed  in 
which  T  w;is  not  there,  while  it  was  in  its  crowded  condition. 
I  had  Prequenl  opportunities  of  seeing  the  condition  of  the 
prisoners,  not  only  from  the  adjacent  hills,  but  on  several 
occasions  from  the  outside  of  the  stockade  where  the  sentinel's 
boxes  were.  I  had  opportunities  of  talking  at  different  times 
with  the  prisoners,  not  only  at  Andersonville,  but  in  several 
instances  after  they  had  escaped  and  come  to  my  house.  T 
can  answer  the  question  only  by  saying  their  condition  was 
as  wretched  and  as  horrible  as  could  well  be  conceived,  not 
only  from  exposure  to  the  sun,  the  inclemency  of  weather, 
and  the  cold  of  winter,  but  from  the  filth,  from  the  absolute 
degradation  which  was  evident  in  their  condition.  I  have 
seen  that  stockade,  after  three  or  four  days"  pain,  when  the 
mud,  T  should  say,  was  at  least  twelve  inches  deep  on  both 
the  bills;  the  prisoners  were  walking  or  wading  through  that 
mud.  The  condition  of  the  stockade,  perhaps,  can  be  expressed 
most  aptly  by  saying  that  in  passing  up  and  down  the  railroad, 
if  the  wind  was  favorable,  the  odor  from  the  stockade  could  be 
del  eel  ed  at   least  two  miles. 

"I  believe  I  am  familiar  with  the  surrounding  country.  That 
section  of  south-western  Georgia  is  well  supplied  with  mills, 
both  grist-mills  and  saw-mills.  Between  Andersonville  and 
Albany   (the  distance  by  railroad  being,  T  believe,  fifty  miles 

there  is  a  railroad  communication,  there  are  five  saw- 
mills. One  of  them,  a  large  one,  is  owned  by  a  gentleman 
named  Drew.  There  are  four  others  of  considerable  capacity. 
There  is  one  saw-mill  at  a  <list;nice  of  six  miles  from  Ander- 
sonville, owned  by  Mr.  Stewart,  that  goes  by  steam.  There  is 
another  such  mill  about  five  miles  from  Andersonville  that  goes 
by  water.  There  are  saw-mills  on  the  road  above  Anderson- 
ville. As  for  grist-mills,  there  are  five  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Andersonville;  that  farthest  off  being  at  a  distance.  1  should 
think,  of  not  exceeding  ten  miles.     There  were  two  ;it   Ameri- 


Extracts  prow  thi    Trim    op  Captain   Wi  195 

i-us.  the  one  farthest  away  being  about  twelve  miles  distant. 
Of  these  mills,  the  water  mills  are  run  nearly  the  entire  year, 
excepl  occasionally  in  the  Bummer  months;  in  the  months  of 
July  and  August  they  may  be  temporarily  suspended  owing 
to  the  want  of  water,  but  not  for  any  Length  of  time., 

■*lt  is  a  very  heavily  timbered  country,  especially  in  the 
region  adjoining  Anderson ville ;  it  may  be  termed  one  of  the 
must  densely  timbered  countries  in  the  United  States.  As  for 
its  fertility,  southwestern  Georgia,  I  believe,  is  termed  the 
garden  of  America;  it  was  termed  the  garden  of  the  confedeT 
acy,  as  having  supplied  the  greater  part  of  the  provisions  for 
the  rebel  army.  Our  section  of  Georgia,  Sumter  county,  is 
perhaps  oot  so  rich  as  the  counties  immediately  contiguous. 
The  land  is  of  a  lighter  quality,  yet  it  produces  heavily.  I 
suppose  thai  the  average  of  that  land  would  be  one  bale  of 
cotton  to  the  acre;  and  wheat  would  average  about  six  bushels 
to  the  acre.  The  average  of  corn  throughout  the  county,  I 
suppose,  would  be  aboul  eight  bushels  to  the  acre.  T  am 
Btating  the  general  average  of  the  whole  numbers  of  acres  in 
the  county.  We  have  land  in  that  county  that  will  produce 
thirty-live  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre.  It  struck  me  that  there 
was  an  uncommon  supply  of  vegetables  in  1864.  Heretofore, 
at  the  South,  there  has  been  but  little  attention  paid  to  gardens 
nil  a  large  scale;  but  last  year  a  very  Large  supply  of  V( 
tables  was  raised,  as  1  understand,  for  the  purpose  of  being  dis- 
posed  «»t'  at  Andersonville.  Indeed,  there  was  not  a  day  that 
when  the  trains  were  not  Loaded,  going  from  Americus 
up  to  Andersonville,  with  persons  carrying  vegetables  there. 
I  know  that  some  officer  at  Andersonville  (I  cannot  say  who 
it  was     had  agents  at   Americus  to  purchase  vegetables;  ami 

Large  amounts  of  vegetables  were  sent   up  daily. 

*[  know  of  lumber  having  been  used  at  Andersonville.  I 
was  there  during  .Jim.-  and  duly  \<-vy  frequently,  at  the  time 
when  Governor  Brown  had  called  out  the  militia  of  the  state. 
The  militia  of  southwestern  Georgia  were  stationed  at  Ander- 
Bonville,  and  their-  t.-nts  were  all  floored  with  good  lumber, 
and  a  good  many  shelters  of  Lumber  were  put  up  by  the 
soldiers.  I  ooticed  a  good  many  tents  that  were  protected  from 
the  sun  by  boards.  There  seemed  to  be  no  want  of  Lumber  at 
that  time  among  the  confederate  soldiers. 


196      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

*1  did  qoI  take  regular  thermometrical  observations  during 
the  summer  of  1864  and  the  winter  of  1864  -'65,  yel  I  had  a 
thermometer,  an  every  day,  sometimes  two  or  three  limes  a 
day,  I  examined  it..  I  generally  made  it  a  rule  to  look  al  h 
when  I  gol  up  in  the  morning  and  again  aboul  noon  and  then 
al  evening.  So  far  as  I  remember,  the  range  of  thermometer 
during  the  summer  of  1864  was  very  high.  I  think  I  have  seen 
it  as  high  as  110  degrees  in  the  shade.  Once,  and  only  once.  I 
put  the  thermometer  out  in  the  sun  on  an  extremely  hoi  day 
in  -June,  L864.  It  ranged  then,  if  my  memory  serves  me  right, 
127  to  130  degrees.  Lasl  winter,  according  to  my  experience 
during  more  than  twenty-five  years  residence  in  Georgia,  was 
the  coldest  winter  we  ever  had  there,  i  have  seen  the  ther- 
mometer as  low  as  20  and  22  degrees  above  zero — from  10  to 
12  degrees  below  the  freezing  point;  one  night  it  was  colder 
than  that;  it  was  the  night  of  the  4th  of  January.  It  is  very 
distinctly  impressed  on  my  memory.  During  the  night  1  was 
awakened  by  my  wife,  who  told  me  that  somebody  was  calling 
in  front  of  my  house.  I  opened  the  side  window  and  asked  who 
was  there.  A  voice  replied,  'a  friend.'  I  answered  that  1  had 
no  friends  at  that  time  of  night,  and  very  few  anyhow  in  thai 
country.  He  said  that  he  was  a  friend  of  mine  and  wanted  to 
come  near  the  fence  to  speak  to  me.  I  told  him  my  dog  would 
bite  him  if  he  came  to  the  fence;  he  then  approached  and  said 
he  was  an  Andersonville  prisoner,  and  asked  me,  calling  me 
by  name,  if  I  lived  there.  T  told  him  I  was  the  man  and  to  wait 
a  minute.  I  dressed  myself,  went  out  and  chained  my  dog,  and 
brought  the  prisoner  in.  He  was  nearly  frozen;  he  could 
hardly  stand;  he  had  on  only  one  shoe, — that  was  a  poor  one. 
— and  a  stocking  upon  the  other  foot,  lie  was  (dad  in  the 
thin  army  flannel  of  the  United  States,  badly  worn,  lie  had 
on  ;i  pair  of  light  blue  pantaloons  which  were  badly  worn. 
This  was  on  a  Wednesday  morning.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
made  his  escape  from  Andersonville  on  the  Saturday  previous; 
that  he  had  been  apprehended  and  taken  to  Americus,  whence 
he  had  made  his  escape  from  the  guard  the  night  before,  and 
was  directed  by  a  negro  to  my  house.  I  asked  him  if  he  was 
not  uearly  fro/en;  he  said  he  was.  I  looked  at  the  thermometer 
then,  and  it  was  eighteen  degrees  above  zero.  This  was  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning     between  one  and  two  o'clock. 


K\TK\<  i-  ik«»m  the  Trial  of  Captain   Wik/  I'T 

"1  know  that  efforts  were  made  by  the  Ladies  of  my  country 
t«>  relieve  the  prisoners  a1  Andersonville ;  at  one  time  ;i  general 
effort  was  made.  All  that  I  know  is  that  a  gentleman  named 
Mr.  Davies,  a  Methodist  presiding  elder,  exerted  himself  to 
induce  the  ladies  to  contribute  clothing  ;m<l  provisions  to  the 
federal  hospital  at  Andersonville.  A  large  amount  of  pro 
visions  \\  .1  ^  collected,  souk-  three  or  four  wagou  Loads,  it'  I 
am  Dot  mistaken,  and  Bent  up  there.  I  believe  that  the  efforl 
failed.  First,  the  provost  marshal  refused  a  pass  t<>  carry  the 
provisions  to  the  hospital:  and  when  the  application  was  made 
to  Genera]  Winder  by  Dr.  Bead,  who  acted  as  the  spokesman 
for  the  ladies,  it  was  positively  refused  to  them.  1  lia<l  a  con- 
sation  with  General  Winder  three  days  afterward.  The 
same  matter  then  came  up.  General  Winder  stated,  accom- 
panied with  an  oath,  that   he  believed  the  whole  country  was 

becoming    'Yankee,'    and    that    he  would  be  d d  if  he 

would  not  put  a  stop  to  it  :  it'  he  couldn't  one  way  he  would  in 
another.  I  remarked  that  I  did  not  think  it  was  any  evidence 
of  'Yankee,'  or  Union  feeling  to  exhibit  humanity.  He  said 
there  was  no  humanity  aboul  it  ;  that  it  was  intended  as  ;i  slur 
upon  the  confederate  government  and  a  covert  attack  upon 
him.  I  told  him  that  L  had  understood  it  was  done  at  his  re- 
quest; that  he  had  requested  -Mr.  Davies  to  bring  this  thing 
about.  He  said  it  was  a  d d  lie:  that  he  had  not  re- 
quested any  thing  of  the  kind:  that   for  his  own  part  he  would 

a    Lief  the  d d    Yankees   would   die   there  as  anywhere 

els.-:  that,  upon  the  whole,  he  did  not  know  hut  that  it  would 
he  better  for  them.  That  was  his  Language,  or  words  to  that 
effect.  Captain  Wirz  was  not  present  at  that  time.  .My  wife 
was  with  me.  and  there  were  other  ladies  present,  hut  I  don't 
think  I  knew  any  of  them.  They  were  not  part  of  the  com- 
mits 
Question:     In  what   way  did  General   Winder  speak  of  the 

ladies  and   t  heir  humane  effort  I 

Answer:    lie  used  the  most  opprobrious  Language  that  could 

possibly  l"-  used.  la!iLrua<_re  that  n«>  gentleman  could  listen  to. 
especially  in  the  presence  of  his  wife,  without  resenting  it  in 
e  way  Language  utterly  unfit  to  he  repeated  in  the  pres- 
ence of  ladies.  It  was  an  intimation  that  he  could  very  easily 
make  loyal  women  of  them  by  putting  them  to  a  certain  condi- 
tion   that    would    bring   them    to   it. 


L98      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 
1  was  presenl  al  a  conversation  the  day  after  this  committee 

of   ladies    Tailed.      Jt    was   at    the   depol    al    Anderson ville.      The 

coversation   was  principally   carried   on   between   the  provost 
marshal,  Captain  Reed,  and  other  officers  present. 
Question:  Captain  or  lieutenant  Reed? 

Answer:  1  believe  we  used  to  eall  him  Captain.  lie  might, 
perhaps,  have  been  a  lieutenant,  ile  was  the  only  Reed  there. 
Captain  Wirz  and  J\.  B.  Winder  were  present.  There  were 
three  or  four  officials  there;  1  cannot  recall  any  but  those. 
Lieutenant  Reed  observed  that  if  General  Winder  had  done 
as  he  wanted  to  do  they  might  have  made  a  good  speculation 
out  of  the  provisions  and  clothing  the  ladies  had  brought; 
that  he  proposed  they  should  be  confiscated,  but  the  ''Old 
General"  would  not  do  it.  Wirz  remarked  that  if  he  had  Ins 
way  he  Avould  have  a  house  built  there,  and  all  the  ladies 
should  be  put  in  it  for  certain  purposes.  That  was  a  most 
scandalous,  infamous  purpose,  which  I  do  not  wish  to  repeat. 
R.  B.  Winder's  remarks  were  a  general  concurrence.  I  don't 
know  that  he  said  anything  special  that  I  can  call  to  mind  any 
more  than  laughingly  concurring  in  what  had  been  said. 

I  know  Turner,  who  had  the  hounds,  very  well;  his  name 
was  Wesley  W.  Turner. 

Question:  What  did  you  ever  hear  him  say  as  to  his  duties 
there  and  what  was  he  receiving? 

Answer:  It  was  some  time  in  the  early  part  of  1864 — March 
or  April,  I  think.  He  had  purchased  a  piece  of  land  up  in  the 
same  district  in  which  my  place  is.  I  met  him  one  day  in 
Americus  and  asked  him  if  he  was  going  to  settle  that  land. 
He  said  he  was  not;  that  he  was  making  more  money  now  than 
anybody  else  in  that  country.  I  inquired  how  he  was  making 
it.  Me  said  the  confederate  government  was  paying  him  for 
keeping  hounds  to  catch  escaped  prisoners.  I  asked  him  if  lie 
go1  his  pay  from  Richmond.  lie  said  no.  he  did  not  trouble 
Richmond;  thai  "Old  Cap.  Wirz"  was  his  paymaster.  I  asked 
him  how  much  he  received.  My  impression  is  that  he  did  not 
tell  me  what  he  received,  lie  told  me  that  he  was  making  more 
money  than  anyone  else  in  that  country;  better  than  he  could 
do  cultivating  ground.  Thai  was  early  in  the  history  of  that 
prison, — T  think  during  March  or  April.  It  was  while  he  was 
there  on  duty.  He  told  me  that  he  then  had  a  pact  of  hounds 
and  was  employed  there. 


Extracts  prom  the  Trial  of  Captain   Wirz  LP3 

1  know  \\  s  Win. Id-.  "Si. |  Winder,"  as  he  is  called.  I 
n;iw  liim  at  the  time  In-  w  as  Laying  oul  1 1n-  prison.  Between  the 
1st  and  15th  of  December,  1863,  I  wenl  u|>  to  Andersonville 
with  him  and  four  or  five  other  gentlemen,  out  of  curiosity  to 
how  the  prison  was  to  !"■  laid  out.  When  we  arrived  there 
the  limits  of  the  prison  had  all  been  marked.  They  were  then 
digging  a  trench  to  put  the  stockade  posts  in.  Workmen  were 
busy  cutting  down  trees  in  and  around  where  the  stockade  was. 
In  the  course  of  the  conversation  I  inquired  of  W.  S.  Winder 
if  he  proposed  to  ered  barracks  <>r  shelter  of  any  kind  inside 
the  Btockade.  II«'  replied  thai  he  was  not;  thai  the  d  d 
Yankees  who  would  l»«'  put  in  there  would  have  do  need  of 
them.  1  asked  him  why  they  were  cutting  down  all  tin-  trees 
and  suggested  that  it'  lefl  Btanding  they  would  be  a  shelter  to 
the  prisoners,  from  the  heat  of  the  sun  at  least.  He  mad-'  this 
reply,  or  something  similar  to  it:  "That  is  jusl  what  I  am 
going  to  do:  1  am  <:<»inLr  t<>  build  a  pen  here  that  will  kill  more 
d — d  Yankees  than  can  be  destroyed  at  the  front."  Those  are 
very  nearly  his  words,  equivalenl  to  them.  That  was  before 
the  Btockade  was  erected  in  the  trench.  Captain  R.  B.  Winder 
came  there  to  the  post  ten  or  fifteen  days  after  that-  -I  supp 
about  ten  days.  There  was  nothing  said  at  that  time  as  to  who 
ordered  W.  S.  Winder  there  to  lay  <>ut  the  prison.  I  had  fre- 
quent conversations  with  Gen.  Winder.  I  used  to  meet  him 
very  frequently,  either  in  Americus  or  going  up  the  railroad, 
him  a  «:<><>d  many  times  at  Andersonville. 

<t>.    What  was  the  genera]  temper  ami  spirit  of  his  talk  with 
regard  to  those  prisonei 

A.  The  opinion  thai  I  formed  of  him  was  anything  but  credil 
aide  to  his  feeling,  his  humanity  or  his  gentlemanly  bearing. 
I  am  not  aware  thai  I  ever  had  a  conversation  with  General 
Winder  in  which  he  did  not  curse  more  or  less,  especially  if 
the  subjecl  of  Andersonville  was  broughl  up.  I  can  reply  i«> 
your  question  only  by  saying  thai  I  considered  him  a  brutal 
man.  That  I  drew  from  his  conversation  and  conducl  ;is  I  ob- 
ed  him.  I  looked  upon  him  ;is  a  man  utterly  devoid  of  all 
kindly  feeling  and  Bentiment. 

Q.  How  generally,  so  far  as  yon  observed,  were  tin1  suffer- 
ings and  horrors  of  the  Andersonville  pen  known  throughoul 

the  South  I 


200      Report  of  Anderson  vii.le  Moni  mint  Commission 

A.  So  far  as  my  knowledge  and  information  went,  the 
knowledge  of  those  sufferings  was  general.  Ii  was  so,  al 
Least,  throughoul  the  southern  pari  of  the  southern  states;  I 
cannol  Bpeak  specifically  in  regard  to  the  neighborhood  of  Rich- 
mond. The  matter  was  discussed  in  the  newspapers  constantly, 
and  discussed  in  private  circles.  Perhaps  I  mighl  have  heard 
more  of  ii  than  most  people,  because  it  dwell  more  on  my  mind  ; 
bu1  it  w;is  a  general  subj.ec1  of  conversation  throughoul  the 
entire  southern  pari  of  the  confederacy." 

Testimony  of  Boston  Corbett,  who  Inter  shol   John    Wilkes 

Booth,  President  Lincoln's  assassin.  He  was  a  prisoner  at  An- 
dersonville  and  was  exchanged.  He  arrived  al  Andersonville 
in  July,  1864.     He  says: 

"Before  we  entered  the  stockade  we  remained  in  front  of  the 
headquarters  for  some  time,  to  he  told  off  in  detachments  num- 
bering two  hundred  and  seventy,  divided  into  nineties.  While 
there  I  was  excessively  thirsty,  and  asked  a  man  near  Captain 
Wirz's  headquarters  (in  some  small  tents)  for  a  drink  of  water. 
The  reply  was  that  he  dare  not  give  it  to  me:  he  was  not  a 
guard;  lie  was  one  of  our  own  prisoners;  there  were  a  good 
many  of  them  outside,  on  their  parole  of  honor.  After  enter- 
ing the  stockade,  I  found  nine  men  of  my  own  company 
there,  who  had  been  taken  to  that  place  some  three  and  a  half 
months  previously;  eight  of  them  were  inside,  and  one 
had  been  taken  to  the  hospital  outside.  I  did  not  see  him,  yet 
knew  of  his  being  there.  Within  two  months  six  out  of  those 
nine  men  had  died,  and  before  I  left  the  stockade,  out  of 
fourteen,  including  five  who  were  captured  with  me,  there  were 
twelve  dead;  only  two  of  us  returned  alive.  The  prison  was 
horrible  on  account  of  the  filthy  condition  of  it;  the  swamp 
which  runs  on  each  side  of  the  small  stream  that  runs  through 
the  slockade  was  so  offensive,  and  the  stench  from  it  so  great, 
that  I  remember  the  first  time  I  went  down  there  I  wondered 
that  ovi'iy  man  in  the  place  did  not  die  from  the  effects  of 
the  stench,  and  I  believe  that  thai  was  the  cause  of  the  death 
of  a  greal  many  of  our  men.  It  was  a  living  mass  of  putrefac- 
tion and  filth;  there  were  maggots  there  a  foot  deep  or  more; 
any  lime  we  turned  over  the  soil  we  could  see  the  maggots  in 
a  living  mass. 


Extracts  from  the  Trial  of  Captain   Wirz         203 

"I  have  Btated  thai  the  condition  of  tin-  place  was  horrible. 
I  have  Been  these  things.  Scurvy  was  a  verj  general  disease 
among  us.  There  were  hundreds  of  cases  all  around.  Ii 
afflicted  me  by  swelling  my  feel  and  Legs  very  much,  contract 
ing  the  cords  of  my  Legs  bo  thai  they  were  crooked  and  I 
could  Dot  Btraighten  them.  1  had  to  Limp  in  walking.  Others 
were  much  worse,  and  had  to  crawl  on  the  ground  or  walk  on 
crutches.  Their  gums  would  gel  exceedingly  sure;  the  teeth 
would  become  Loose  and  frequently  came  out.  In  addition 
to  this  there  would  be  a  growth  of  raw  flesh  <>n  the  gums 
both  on  the  inside  and  out.  In  one  case,  a  comrade  belonging 
to  my  company  had  such  flesh  grow  from  each  Bide  of  the 
mouth  until  it  formed  a  second  growth,  making  it  impossible 
for  him  to  eal  such  coarse  food  as  the  corn  bread  thai  we  re- 
ceived, or  anything  of  that  nature.  My  gums  frequently  Meed 
still.      Very    many    were   afflicted   in   that    way." 

Testimony  of  Rev.   William  .John  Hamilton. 

Tin-  Rev.  William  John  Hamilton  was  also  examined  on  the 
Wirz  trial,  and  testified  as  follows: 

I.  am  ]>;ist<>r  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Macon,  Georgia.  J 
visited  Andersonville  three  times.  It  w;is  one  of  the  missions 
attached  to  my  church.  I  went  there.  I  think,  in  the  month  of 
.May.  1864,  and  Bpenl  ;i  day  there.  Tin'  following  week  I  went 
and  spenl  three  days  there  among  the  pris rs,  and  then  re- 
turned and  wrote  a  reporl  on  the  condition  of  the  hospital  and 
ikade  to  my  bishop,  in  order  that  he  mighl  send  the  requi- 
site Dumber  of  priests  to  visit  the  prisoners  there;  and  I  visited 
it  again  after  the  prisoners  had  been  removed  from  Anderson- 
ville to  Thomasville.  I  do  n<>t  remember  the  month  of  thai 
visit.  It  was  in  the  beginning  of  this  year,  in  the  month  of 
February  or  March,  1865. 

Q  State  to  tie-  courl  in  what  condition  you  found  tie:  stock- 
ade when  yon  firsl  visited  it.  and  subsequently,  and  all  the 
time  while  yon  were  1  here. 

A.  The  firsl   time  I   visited  the  Btockade  I  had  only  aboul 

three  or  four  hours  1«»  spend  there.     I   merely  went   to  Bee  what 

the  condition  of  tie-  place  was.    My  principal  objeel  was  to  find 
out,  if  possible,  the  Dumber  of  Catholics  who  were  prisoners 

there,  in  order  that   we  mighl   induce  the  bishop  to  Bend  ;i  snffi- 


204      Report  op  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

cienl  Qumber  of  priests.  I  did  nol  pay  much  attention  to  wlwii  I 
saw  or  heard  there  then.  The  following  week  I  returned  and 
spent  three  days.  1  visited  the  stockade  and  the  hospital,  dis- 
charging my  duties  as  a  priesl  of  the  Catholic  church.    On  this, 

my  second  visil  to  11)*'  stockade,  I  found,  I  think,  about  2:5, 000 
prisoners  there;  a1  least  the  prisoners  told  me  there  were  that 
number.  I  found  the  place  extremely  crowded,  with  a  greal 
deal  of  sickness  and  suffering  among  the  men.  I  was  kepi  so 
busy  administering  the  sacrament  to  the  dying  that  I  had  to 
curtail  a  greal  deal  of  the  service  that  Catholic  priests  admin- 
ister to  the  dying,  tor  the  reason  they  were  so  uumerous — they 
died  so  last.  I.  waited  only  upon  those  of  my  own  church;  they 
were  the  only  persons  who  demanded  my  ministrations.  When 
1  speak  of  the  number  dying,  I  mean  among  those  of  my  own 
church,  and  do  not  include  t  he  ol  hers. 

Q.  Give  the  court  some  idea  of  the  condition  of  the  stock- 
ade. 

A.  1  found  the  Stockade  extremely  filthy, — the  men  all 
huddled  together,  and  covered  with  vermin.  The  best  idea  I 
can  give  the  court  of  the  condition  of  the  place  is,  perhaps, 
this:  I  went  in  there  with  a  white  linen  coat  on,  and  I  had  not 
been  there  more  than  ten  minutes  or  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  when 
a  gentlemen  drew  my  attention  to  the  condition  of  my  coat. 
It  was  all  covered  over  with  vermin,  and  1  had  to  take  it  off 
and  leave  it  with  one  of  the  guards  and  perform  my  duties 
in  my  shirt  sleeves,  the  place  was  tilt  by. 

Q.  State  to  the  court  any  particular  case  which  came  under 
your  notice  that  would  help  to  illustrate  the  condition  of 
things  there. 

A.   Thai   is  about   the  only  idea   I  can  give  of  the  stockade. 

Q.  State  any  particular  case  yon  observed  showing  the 
destitution  of  t  he  prisoners. 

A.  The  first  person  I  conversed  with  on  entering  the  stock- 
ade was  a  countryman  of  mine,  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
church,  who  recognized  me  as  a  clergyman.  I  think  his  name 
was  Farrell.  He  was  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  lie  came  over 
toward  me  and  introduced  himself.  He  was  quite  a  boy;  I  do 
not  think,  judging  from  his  appearance,  that  he  could  have 
been  more  than  sixteen  years  old.  I  found  him  without  a  hat 
and  withont  any  covering  on  his  feet,  and  without  jackel  or 
coat.    He  told  me  that  his  shoes  had  been  taken  from  him  on  the 


Extra*  rs  prom  the  Trial  op  Captain   Wirz  205 

battle  field.    I  found  the  boy  Buffering  very  much  from  a  wound 

in  his  right  foot;  in  fact,  the  foot  was  split  open  like  an  oyster, 

:  on  inquiring  the  cause,  they  told  me  it  was  from  exposure 

to  the  mmi  in  ilir  Btockade,  and  not  from  any  wound  received 
in  battle.  I  took  off  my  boots  and  gave  him  a  pair  of  socks  in 
cover  bis  feet  and  told  him  I  would  bring  him  some  clothing, 
-.  I  expected  to  return  to  Andersonville  the  following  week. 
1  had  to  return  to  Macon  to  Lot  another  priest  to  take  my  place 
on  Sunday.  When  I  returned  the  follow  inn'  week,  on  inquir- 
ing lor  i  his  man,  Parrell,  bis  companion  told  me  he  had  stepped 
across  the  dead  line  and  requested  the  guards  to  shoot  him. 
II.  was  noi  insane  at  the  time  I  was  conversing  with  him.  It 
was  three  or  four  days  after  that  when  I  was  asking  for  him; 
I  think  it  was  the  latter  part  of  May,  L864.  To  the  best  of  my 
recollection  his  name  was  Farrell.  I  do  not  know  to  what 
company  or  regiment  be  belonged;  I  did  not  ask  him.  Winn  I 
speak  of  administering  the  sacrament  of  the  church  to  those 
dying,  I  lvf.-r  to  those  in  the  stockade  and  in  the  hospital.  \ 
Bpent  two  days  in  the  stockade  and  one  iii  the  hospital  during 
my  services  at  Andersonville.  This  ease  that  I  have  spoken  of 
occurred  in  the  stockade.  He  had  no  medical  treatment  at  all; 
n»»iie  of  those  who  died  there  and  to  whom  1  administered  the 
sacrament  received  any  medical  treatment  ;M  all.  so  far  as  I 
could  see.  Whmi  I  went  into  the  hospital  I  found  it  almost  as 
crowded  as  the  stockade;  the  men  wore  dying  there  very 
rapidly  from  scurvy,  diarrhea,  and  dysentery;  and.  so  far  as  I 
could  observe,  I  could  not  see  thai  they  received  any  medical 
treatment  whatsoever,  or  received  and  medicine  at  all. 

<L>.  How  were  they  situated  as  to  beds  and  bedding) 

A.  They  were  all  in  tents;  the  hospital  was  composed  of 
tents  arranged  in  avenues,  and  I  did  not  see  that  they  had  any- 
thing under  them  at  all  except  the  ground.  In  some  eases,  T 
think,  they  had  dried  leaves  that  they  had  gathered.  In  my 
ministration  while  at  the  hospital  I  saw  one  surgeon  in  charge 
there,  Dr.   White. 

<t>.  State  t he  circumstances. 

A.  I  was  attending  an  Irishman,  by  the  name  of  Connor,  1 
think,  who  was  captured  at  the  oight  assault  made  on  Port 
Sumter;  at  least  I  think  he  told  me  so.  II,-  was  so  had  that  I 
had  to  hear  his  confession  and  give  him  the  rites  of  the  church 
sitting  upon  a  sto«»l.     While  I   was  hearing  the  man's  confes- 


206      Report  of  A.ndersonville  Moni  ment  Commission 

sion,  Surgeon  White  passed  through  the  hospital  and,  seeing 
me  whispering  to  the  prisoner,  and  qoI  knowing,  I  suppose, 
who  1  was,  ordered  the  guard  to  bring  me  under  arrest  to  his 
quarters.  I  weni  up  and  apologized  for  having  done  so;  he 
had,  in  the  meantime,  inquired  of  Captain  Wirz  who  1  was,  and 
the  captain  bad  told  him  that  he  had  given  me  the  necessary 
pass.  I  conversed  with  Dr.  "White  with  regard  to  the  condition 
of  the  men,  and  he  told  me  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  do  anv- 
i  hing  Tor  1  hem  ;  that  lie  had  no  medicine  and  could  not  get  any, 
and  that  he  was  doing  everything  in  his  power  to  help  them. 
That  was  the  only  time  I  ever  met  the  surgeon  there.  Captain 
"Wirz  gave  me  the  pass.  I  first  called  upon  Colonel  Persons. 
who  was  the  officer  in  command  at  Andersonville,  He  referred 
me  to  Captain  Wirz,  and  Wirz  gave  me  a  pass  and  granted  me 
every  facility  in  his  power  to  visit  those  men.  He  walked  down 
to  the  stockade  with  me  and  showed  me  the  entrance.  Thai 
pass  held  good  only  for  that  day.  That  Avas  the  first  day  T 
went  there.  It  was  renewed  afterward  by  Captain  Wirz.  It 
continued  good  for  the  three  days  T  was  there.  I  did  not  have 
it  renewed  afterward.  I  did  not  visit  Andersonville  again  until 
the  prisoners  had  been  removed  to  Thomasville.  That  was  the 
beginning  of  this  year. 

Q.  What  did  you  observe  with  regard  to  shelter  in  the  stock- 
ade, and  the  suffering  of  the  men  from  heat  there? 

A.  When  I  visited  the  stockade  there  was  no  shelter  at  all, 
so  far  as  I  could  see.  except  that  some  of  the  men  who  had 
their  blankets  there  had  put  them  up  on  little  bits  of  roots 
thai  they  abstracted  from  the  ground;  but  I  could  not  see  any 
tents  or  shelter  of  any  other  hind.  T  got  the  names  of  several 
prisoners  who  had  relatives  living  in  the  south  and  wrote  to 
their  friends  when  I  returned  to  Macon,  and  I  had  some  tents 
introduced  there:  they  were  sent  down  and  the  men  received 
1  hem. 

Q.  Can  yon  illustrate  to  the  court  the  condition  of  the  prison 
by  stating.  Tor  instance,  where  yon  tried  to  make  your  way 
through  the  crowd  to  a  prisoner  who  was  dying? 

A.  Yes.  sir:  during  my  second  visit  to  the  prison,  1  was  told 
that  there  was  an  Irishman  over  at  the  extreme  end  of  the 
stockade  who  was  calling  for  a  priest.  1  suppose  he  had  heard 
that  1  had  visited  the  prison  the  day  before,  and,  as  he  was  wry 
anxious  to  see  a    priest,  he   was  calling   for  one  all   over  the 


Extracts  prom  thi    Trial  of  Captain  Wirz         207 

stockade.  There  is  a  brook  thai  runs  right  through  the  middle 
of  the  Btockade  and  I  tried  to  cross  it,  bu1  was  unable  to  do  so 
ns  the  men  were  crowding  around  there  trying  to  ur-'i  in 
tlif  Water  to  cool  themselves  and  wash  themselves.  I  could  not 
over  tlic  brook  so  had  to  leave  the  stockade  withoul  see 
ing  the  man.  The  heal  there  was  intolerable;  there  was  do 
pur.'  air  a1  all  in  the  stockade.  The  logs  of  which  the  Btockade 
w;in  composed  were  so  close  together  thai  f  could  do1  feel 
any  fresh  air  inside:  and,  with  a  strong  sun  beaming  down 
on  it,  and  do  shelter  al  all,  the  heal  must,  of  course,  have  been 
insufferable ;  at  least,  I  fell  it  so. 

Q    How  did  it  affecl  the  priests  on  duty  there  1 

A.  The  prints  who  went  there  after  me,  while  administering 
the  sacrament  to  the  dying,  had  to  use  umbrellas,  the  heal 
was  so  intei  -  9  >me  of  them  broke  down  in  consequence  of 
their  services  there.  In  the  month  of  August,  1  think,  we  had 
three  priests  constantly.  We  had  a  priest  from  Mobile  who 
:e  three  <>r  four  languages,  for  you  could  find  every  nation- 
ality inside  the  Btockade.  We  had  two  from  Savannah  and 
nie-  from  Augusta  at  different  times.  One  of  the  priests  from 
Savannah  came  to  Macon,  where  I  reside,  completely  pros- 
trated, and  was  sick  at  my  house  for  several  days. 

There  were  saw  nulls  in  that  vicinity  along  the  railroad. 
1  do  doI  remember  thai  any  were  near  to  Andersonville.  I  used 
to  visit  Albany,  which,  1  suppose,  is  thirty  or  forty  miles  below 
Andersonville,  our.-  every  month.  It  was  my  duty  to  go  there 
that  often,  and  I  used  to  see  saw  mills  along  the  railroad  in 
operation.  T  have  heard  that  the  prisoners  proposed  to  cut 
wood  for  themselves.  In  fact,  i  have  heard  prisoners  say  so. 
1  did  not  keep  an  accounl  of  the  dying  men  I  used  to  attend 
per  day  to  administer  tie-  last  sacrament,  ye1  judging  from 
the  hours  1  was  engaged  and  what  I  know  to  l>c  the  length  of 
the  service,  T  suppose  1  must  have  attended  from  twenty  to 
thirty  every  day;  sometimes  more,  sometimes  less.  That  was 
aboul  the  average  Dumber,  between  twenty  and  thirty. 

Q  Can  yon  speak  more  particularly  as  to  the  bodily  condi- 
tion of  those  inside  tie-  Btockade,  their  clothing  and  the  appear- 
ance of  th<-  men ! 

A.  Well,  as  I  said,  when  I  wenl  there  I  was  kepi  so  busily 
engaged  in  giving  tic  sacramenl  to  the  dying  men  that  I  could 
not   observe  much;  but,  of  course,  r  could  doI    keep  my  • 


208      Report  of  Andersonville  .M<>m  ment  Commission 

closed  as  to  what  I  saw.  I  saw  a  greal  many  men  prefectly 
naked  walking  aboul  through  the  stockade;  they  seemed  to 
have  lost  nil  regard  for  delicacy,  shame,  morality,  or  anything 

else.  1  would  frequently  have  to  creep  on  my  hands  and  knees 
into  the  holes  of  the  men  to  hear  their  confessions.     I   found 

them  almost  living  in  vermin  in  those  holes;  they  could  not 
he  in  any  other  condition  hut  filthy,  because  they  go1  no  soap 
and  no  change  of  clothing,  and  were  there  all  huddled  together. 

1  never  at  any  time  counted  the  number  of  dead  bodies  being 
taken  out  of  the  stockade  in  the  morning.  I  have  never  seen 
any  dead  carried  out  of  the  stockade.  I  have  seen  dead  bodies 
in  the  hospital  in  the  morning.  In  the  case  of  the  man  in  the 
hospital,  of  whom  I  was  speaking  awhile  ago,  after  I  had  heard 
his  confession,  and  before  I  gave  him  the  last  rites  of  the 
church,  I  saw  them  placing  the  night  guards  in  the  hospital, 
and  I  knew  1  would  not  ho  able  to  gel  out  after  that.  1  told 
him  thai  1.  would  return  in  the  morning  and  give  him  the 
other  rites  of  the  church,  if  he  still  lived.  I  was  there  early  the 
next  morning,  and  in  going  down  one  of  the  avenues  I  counted 
from  forty  to  sixty  dead  bodies  in  the  stockade.  I  have  seen 
a  person  in  the  hospital  in  a  nude  condition — perfectly  naked. 
They  were  not  only  covered  with  the  ordinary  vermin,  hut  with 
maggots.  They  had  involuntary  evacuations,  and  there  were 
no  persons  to  look  after  them.  The  nurses  did  not  seem  to  pay 
any  attention  whatever,  and,  in  consequence  of  being  allowed 
to  lie  in  their  owrn  filth  for  some  hours,  vermin  of  every  de- 
scription had  got  on  them  which  they  were  unable  to  keep  off. 
This  was  the  latter  part  of  May.  T.  never  noticed  in  the  stock- 
ade the  men  digging  in  the  ground  and  standing  in  the  sand 
to  protect  themselves  from  the  sun.  I  did  not  see  any  instance 
of  that  kind.  I  have  seen  them  making  little  places  from  a  foot 
to  a  foot  and  a  half  deep,  and  stretching  their  blankets  tight 
over  them.  I  have  crawled  into  such  places  frequently  to  hear 
the  confessions  of  the  dying.  They  would  hold  from  one  to 
two;  and  sometimes  one  prisoner  would  share  his  blanket  with 
another  and   allow   him   to  get    under  shelter. 

When  I  returned  from  the  stockade  after  my  second  visit 
t<>  it.  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  1  represented  these  things  to 
General  Cobb.  1  wrote  to  our  bishop  and  told  him  that  these 
men  were  dying  in  large  numbers;  that  there  were  many 
Catholics  there,  and  thai  they  required  the  services  of  a  priest ; 


EXTRA!   i-    ii;«'\i    THJ     TRIAI     OF    CAPTAIN     Wii:  203 

thru  he  sent  up  Father  Whelan.  Father  Whelan  expressed  a 
desire  to  see  General  (1obb  before  he  went  down  to  the  stock 
ade.  I  called  upon  General  Cobb  ;ni<l  told  him  that  I  had  been 
there,  and  I  gave  him  a  description  of  the  place,  as  well  as  I 
could,  and  he  asked  me  what  I  would  recommend  to  be  done, 
-  he  intended  to  write  to  Richmond  with  regard  to  the  con 
ditiori  of  the  place.  After  I  found  out  Prom  conversation  with 
him  that  nothing  could  be  done  for  the  bodily  comforl  of  the 
men,  owing  to  the  stringency  of  the  stockade,  I  advised 
him  to  parole  those  men  upon  their  word  of  honor,  take 
them  down  to  Jacksonville,  Florida,  and  turn  them  into 
the  federal  Lines.  Whether  that  recommendation  was 
acted  on  or  not  I  do  not  know;  he  asked  my  opinion  and  I 
gave  it.  At  the  time  when  1  told  him  of  the  condition  in 
which  I  found  things,  it  was  known  to  the  whole  country,  for 
it  was  published  in  the  newspapers  in  the  south.  I  do  not 
know  aboul  its  being  common  talk  and  rumor  throughout  the 
country.  I  am  speaking  only  about  Macon  and  southwestern 
rgia.  The  whole  of  southwestern  Georgia  is  included  in 
my  mission,  and  I  know  that  the  condition  of  the  prison  was 
well  known  in   .Mat-on  and  throughout   all  that   region. 

Q.   Do  you  remember  whether  he  stated  that  he  had  written 
Richmond,  or  that   he  was  aboul  to  write  to  Richmond,  to 
represent  the  condition  of  things  at  Andersonville t 

A.  WTien  he  asked  me  to  give  him  a  description  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  place,  he  answered.  I  think,  that  he  was  going  to 
write,  and  wished  to  have  some  information  from  me  on  the  sub- 
ject. He  remarked,  also,  that  he  would  like  me  to  give  him  a  de- 
scription, because  he  knew  the  relations  that  existed  between  the 
Catholic  priest  and  the  members  of  his  church,  and  they  would 
be    more    unreserved    in    communicating    with    me    than    with 

other 

Dr.  Hopkin'-  Report,  Surgeon,  Thomasville,  Ga. 

Andersonville,  Georgia,  August   1.  1864. 
"General :     In  obedience  to  your  order  of  duly  28,  requiring 
us  to  make  ,-i  careful  examination  of  the  federal   prison  and 

hospital   at    this    place,    and    to   ascertain    and    report    to  you    the 

cause  of  disease  and  mortality  among  the  prisoners,  and  the 
14 


210      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

means  necessary  to  prevenl   the  same,  this  has  been  complied 
with,  and  we  respectfully  submil  the  following: 

''Cause  of  Disease  and  Mortality. 

1.  The  large  number  of  prisoners  crowded  together. 

2.  The  entire  absence  of  all  vegetables  as  diet,  so  necessary 
as  a  prevenl  ive  of  scurvy. 

:\.  The  want  of  barracks  to  shelter  the  prisoners  from  sun 
and  rain. 

4.  The  inadequate  supply  of  wood  and  good  water. 

5.  Badly  cooked  food. 

6.  The  filthy  condition  of  prisoners  and  prison  generally. 

7.  The  morbific  emanations  from  the  brook  or  ravine,  passing 
through  the  prison,  the  condition  of  which  cannot  be  belter 
explained  otherwise  than  by  naming  it  a  morass  of  human  ex- 
cremenl  and  mud. 

"Preventive  Measures. 

1.  The  removal  immediately  from  the  prison  of  not  loss  than 
fifteen  thousand  prisoners. 

2.  Detail  on  parole  a  sufficient  number  of  prisoners  to  culti- 
vate the  necessary  supply  of  vegetables,  and,  until  this  can  be 
carried  into  practical  operation,  the  appointment  of  agents 
along  the  different  lines  of  railroad  to  purchase  and  forward 
a  supply. 

3.  The  immediate  erection  of  barracks  to  shelter  the  pris- 
oners. 

4.  To  furnish  the  necessary  quantity  of  wood,  and  have  wells 
dug  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  water. 

5.  Divide  the  prisoners  into  squads,  place  each  sqnad  under 
the  charge  of  a  sergeant,  furnish  the  necessary  quantity  of 
soap,  and  hold  every  sergeant  responsible  for  the  personal  clean- 
liness of  his  squad;  furnish  the  prisoners  with  clothing  at  the 
expense  of  llie  eonf'ederate  government,  and,  if  that  government 
is  nimble  to  do  so,  candidly  admit  inability  and  call  upon  the 
federal  government  to  furnish  them. 

G.  By  a  daily  inspection  of  bake-honse  and  baking. 

7.  Cover  over  with  sand  from  the  hillsides  the  entire  morass 
not  less  than  six  inches  dee]),  board  the  stream  or  watercourse, 
confine  the  men  to  the  use  of  the  sinks  and  make  the  penalty 
for  disobedience  of  such  orders  severe, 


Extracts  prom  the  Trial  op  Captain  Wirz         211 

■■  For  1 he  I [ospital. 

We  recommend  i 

1.  Thai  the  tents  be  floored  with  planks;  if  planks  cannot  be 
had,  with  puncheons;  and  if  this  be  impossible,  tli<'ii  with  pine 
straw,  to  be  frequently  changed. 

2,  We  find  an  inadequate  supply  of  stool-boxes.  We  recom- 
mend that  the  number  be  increased,  and  that  the  nurses  be  re- 
quired to  remove  them  as  soon  as  used  and.  before  returning 
them,  Bee  thai  they  are  well  washed  and  limed. 

.'!.   The  dh't    for  the  sirk  is  not  such  as  they  should  have,  and 

we  recommend  that  they  he  supplied  with  the  necessary  quan- 
i ity  of  M'U|t.  wit  h  vegetables. 

4.  We  also  recommend  thai  the  surgeons  be  required  to  visit 
the  hospitals  ool  less  than  twice  a  day. 

5.  We  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  the  aecessity  for  the 
appointment  of  an  efficienl  medical  officer  to  the  exclusive 
duty  of  inspecting  the  prison  hospital  and  bakery  daily,  requir- 
ing of  him  to  make  daily  reports  of  their  condition  to  head- 
quarters. 

T.S.Hopkins, 
Art  ing  Assistant  Surgeon. 
Brigadier  General  John  W.  Wilson. 

Endorsement:  Inspection  report  of  Andersonville  prison, 
July.  1,S(54.M 

Dr.  Joseph  Jones  <>f  the  confederate  service,  Bays: 

"The  federal  prisoners  mad.-  frequenl  forays  upon  the  hospi- 
tal stmvs  and  carried  off  the  food  and  clothing  of  the  sirk. 

"The  supply  of  medical  officers  has  been  insufficient  from  the 
foundation  of  the  prison. 

"The   DUrSes   and    attendants   upon    the  sick    have   been  most 

generally  federal  prisoners,  who,  in  loo  many  cases,  appear  to 
have  been  devoid  of  moral  principle,  and  who  not   only  aeg 
lected  their-  duties  hut  were  also  engaged  in  extensive  robbing 

of   the    sick." 

"II  may  he  said  here  that  for  hospital  nurses  the  rebels  de- 
tailed the   raider  element    from   among  Our  prisoners;   these  so 

called  aurses  were  Buch  persons  as  were  willing  to  aid  in  all 
plans  for  destroying  the  lives  of  our  Bick. 


212      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

"From  the  want    of  proper  police  and   hygienic   regulation 
alone,  it  is  not  surprising  thai  from  February  24,  L864,  to  Sep 
tember  21,  there  were  recorded  nine  t  housand  four  hum  I  red  and 
seventy-nine   deaths,    nearly   one-third    the   entire    uumber   of 
prisoners. M 

Testimony  of  Surgeon  C.  C.  Roy,  Confederate: 
"I  was  told  thai  there  were  from  thirty  thousand  to  thirty- 
five  thousand  prisoners  in  the  stockade  when  I  went  on  duty  at 
Andersonville.    They  presented  the  most  horrible  spectacle  of 

humanity  that  1  ever  saw  in  my  life.  A  good  many  were 
suffering  from  scurvy  and  other  diseases;  a  good  many  were 
naked;  a  large  majority ,  barefooted;  a  good  many  without 
hats.     Their  condition  generally  was  almost    indescribable.     I 

attributed  that  condition  to  Ion-:'  confinement  and  the  want 
of  necessities  and  comforts  of  life,  and  all  those  causes  that 
are  calculated  to  produce  that  condition  of  the  system  where 
there  is  just  vitality  enough  to  permit  one  to  live.  In  the  firsl 
place,  at  Andersonville  the  prisoners  were  densely  crowded. 
In  the  next  place  there  was  no  shelter,  except  such  as  they  con- 
structed themselves,  which  was  very  insufficient.  A  good 
many  were  in  holes  in  the  earth,  with  their  blankets  thrown 
over  them;  a  good  many  had  a  blanket  or  oilcloth  thrown 
over  poles;  some  were  in  tents  constructed  by  their  own  in- 
genuity, and  with  just  such  accommodations  as  their  own  in- 
genuity permitted  them  to  contrive.  There  were,  as  you  say, 
no  accommodations  made  for  them  in  the  stockade,  and,  in 
fact,  it  was  a  \v\-y  wise  tiling  that  none  were  made  there,  un- 
less the  stockade  had  been  Large,  because  to  have  filled  up  the 
space  occupied  by  this  prison  with  sheds  would  almosl  have 
produced  a  stagnation  of  air." 

THE   CONDITION   of  TIN':    PRISONERS    IX   THE    HOSPITAL. 

By  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon,  J.  C.  Bates,  Confederate. 

"I  reported  to  \)v.  Stevenson,  who  assigned  me  to  the  third 
division  of  the  military  prison  hospital  under  Dr.  Shepard; 
1  was  assigned  to  the  fifteenth  ward,  as  then  designated. 

■■rpon  ^oing  to  the  hospital,  1  went  immediately  to  the  ward 
to  which  I  was  assigned,  and,  although  I  am  not  an  over-sensi- 
tive man,  1  must  confess  1  was  rather  shocked  at  the  appear- 


\  I  i;  \i    IS     IK'  »\l      I'll  I 


Tki  \i.   OP    C  \i'T  UN    WlRZ  '-' ]   ; 


ance  of  things.  The  men  were  lying  partially  aude,  and  dying, 
and  lousy,  a  portion  of  them  in  the  sand  and  others  upon 
boards  which  had  been  Btuck  up  on  a  little  prop,  pretty  well 
crowded  together,  a  majority  of  them  in  small  tents,  looking 
to  be  tents  that  were  qo1  very  serviceable  a1  best.  I  wenl 
round  ;ind  examined  all  that  were  placed  in  my  charge.  Thai 
was  the  condition  of  the  men.  By  and  by,  as  I  became  familiar- 
used  with  the  condition  of  affairs,  the  impressions  which  were 
at  tii'st  produced  upon  me  wore  off,  more  or  less.  1  became 
familiar  with  Bcenes  of  misery  and  they  did  oot  affect  m< 
much.  I  inquired  into  the  nature  of  the  rations  of  the  men,  for 
I  felt  disposed  to  do  my  duty;  and  after  the  men  found  that 
1  was  inclined  to  aid  them  so  far  as  I  could  in  my  sphere 
of  action,  they  frequently  asked  me  for  a  teaspoonful  of  salt, 
or  an  order  for  a  little  siftings  that  came  out  of  the  meal.  I 
would  ask  them  what  they  wanted  siftings  for,  and  some  of 
them  said  they  wished  to  make  some  bread.  I  would  inquire 
into  the  state  of  their  disease,  and  if  what  they  asked  for  would 
injure  them.  I  would  not  allow  them  to  have  it.  I  would  give 
them  an  order  for  sifted  meal  where  1  found  that  the  condition 
of  the  patient  required  something  better  than  siftings.  They 
would  come  at  times  in  considerable  numbers  to  gel  these 
orders  for  an  extra  ration,  or.  if  not  a  ration,  whatever  portion 
they  could  get.  I  spent  a  considerable  portion  of  my  time  in 
writing  orders,  and  I  did  it  very  laconically.  I  had  three 
words  that  contained  a  bona  fide  order,  which  should  be  re- 
tted by  the  head  cook  or  baker.  We  commonly  called  him 
Bob-  his  name  was  Allen;  he  was  from  Illinois.  The  order 
would  read  in  this  way:  "Bob  meal  Bates."  If  any  more 
words  were  attached  to  it,  it  was  not  a  genuine  order.  I  used 
that  discrimination  in  order  to  favor  the  sickest  of  them,  bo 
that  they  in i ltIi  1  get  what  they  could  at  the  expense,  perhaps, 
of  those  who  could  Lr«-1  alone-  heller  without  it.  These  orders 
were  constantly  applied  for.  and  I  would  siLrn  them  until  my 
patience  was  almost   worn  out.     The  meat   ration  was  cooked 

at    a    different    part    of  the    hospital:    and    when    I    would    go    up 

there,  especially  while  I  was  medical  officer  of  the  day.  the  men 
would  gather  around  me  and  ask  me  for  a  hone.  I  would  grant 
their-  requests  so  far  as  I  could.  I  would  give  them  whatever 
I  could  find  at  my  disposition  without  robbing  others.  I  well 
knew  that  such  appropriation  of  one  ration  took  it   from  the 


214      Report  of  A.ndersonville  RIoni  mint  Commission 

general  issue;  that  when  I  appropriated  an  extra  ration  to  one 
man,  some  one  else  would  fall  minus  upon  that  ration.  1  then 
fell  back  upon  the  distribution  of  bones.  They  did  not  pre- 
sume to  ask  me  for  meat  at  all.  So  far  as  the  rations  were  con- 
cerned, that  is  about  the  way  matters  went  along  for  some 
time  after  I  went  there. 

"Clothing  we  had  none;  the  prisoners  eould  not  be  furnished 
with  any  clothing,  except  that  the  clothing  of  the  dead  was 
generally  appropriated  to  the  living.  We  thus  helped  the  liv- 
ing along  as  well  as  we  could. 

"Of  vermin  or  lice,  there  was  a  very  prolific  crop.  I  got  to 
understand  practically  the  meaning  of  the  word  'lousy;'  I 
would  generally  find  some  upon  myself  after  retiring  to  my 
quarters;  they  were  so  numerous  that  it  was  impossible  for  a 
surgeon  to  enter  the  hospital  without  having  some  upon  him 
when  he  came  out,  if  he  had  touched  anybody  or  anything  save 
the  ground;  and  very  often  if  he  merely  stood  still  any  con- 
siderable length  of  time  he  Avould  get  them  upon  him. 

"When  I  went  to  the  hospital  I  found  the  men  destitute  of 
clothing  and  bedding;  there  was  a  partial  supply  of  fuel,  yet 
not  sufficient  to  keep  the  men  warm  and  prolong  their  exist- 
ence. Shortly  after  I  arrived  there  I  was  appointed  officer 
of  the  day.  I  learned  that  the  officer  of  the  day  Avas  in  supreme 
command  of  all  pertaining  to  the  hospital,  and  that  it  was  my 
duty,  as  such,  to  go  into  the  various  wards  and  divisions  of 
the  hospital  and  rectify  anything  that  was  not  as  it  should  be. 
In  visiting  the  hospital  I  made  a  pretty  thorough  examination. 
As  a  general  thing,  the  patients  were  destitute;  they  were 
filthy  and  partly  naked.  There  seemed  to  be  a  disposition  only 
to  get  something  to  eat.  The  clamor  all  the  while  was  for 
something  to  eat.  They  asked  me  for  orders  for  this,  that, 
and  the  other — peas  or  rice,  or  salt,  or  beef  tea,  or  a  po- 
tato, or  a  biscuit,  or  a  piece  of  cornbread,  or  sit'tings  of  meal. 

"Medicines  were  scarce;  we  could  not  get  what  we  wished. 
We  drew  upon  the  indigenous  remedies;  they  did  not  seem  to 
answer.  We  gathered  up  large  quantities  of  them,  but  very 
few  served  Tor  medicines  as  we  wished.  We  wanted  the  besl 
and  most  powerful  anti-scorbutics,  as  well  as  something  that 
was  soothing  and  hearing,  especially  to  the  lining  membrane  of 
the  alimentary  canal,  also  such  tilings  as  were  calculated  to 
counteracl   a  dropsical  disposition  and  a  gangrenous  infection. 


Extracts  from  the  Trial  of  Captain   Wirz  215 

Those  were  prominent  things  in  the  hospital.     We  had  not  al 
all  times  the  proper  remedies  to  administer,  and  the  indige 
nous  remedies  did  not  serve  us  and  could  not  Berve  us  in  those 
complaints.     We  were  obliged  to  <l<>  the  best  we  could. 

"There  was  in  my  ward  a  boy  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  in 
whom  I  fell  a  particular  interest.  My  attention  was  more  im- 
mediately  railed  to  him  from  his  youth,  and  he  appealed  to  me 
in  such  a  way  thai  I  could  nol  well  avoid  heeding  him.  He 
would  often  ask  me  to  bring  him  a  potato,  a  piece  of  bread, 
a  Itiseuit  or  something  of  thai  kind,  which  I.  did.  J.  would  put 
it  in  my  pockel  and  give  it  to  him.  1  would  sometimes  give 
him  a  raw  potato,  and,  as  lie  had  the  scurvy  and  also  gan- 
ne,  I  would  advise  him  not  to  cook  tie-  potato  at  all  hut  to 
eat  it  raw  as  an  anti-SCOrbutic.  I  supplied  him  in  that  way 
for  some  time,  hut  1  could  not  give  him  a  sufficiency.  He  came 
t<»  have  bed-sores  upon  his  hips  and  hark,  lying  upon  the 
ground  ;  we  afterwards  got  him  some  straw.     Those  bed-ridden 

s  had  become  gangrenous.  He  became  more  and  more 
emaciated  until  lie  died.  The  lice,  the  want  of  bed  and  bed- 
ding, of  fmd  and   food,  united  to  cause  his  death. 

""I  was  a  little  shy.  I.  did  not  know  that  I.  was  allowed  to 
take  such  things  to  the  patients;  and  I  had  been  so  often 
arrested  that  I  thoughl  it  necessary  to  be  a  little  shy  in  what  I 
did.  and  keep  it  to  myself.  I  would  put  a  potato  in  my  pockel 
and  would  turn  around  and  let  it  drop  to  this  man  or  that. 
I  did  not  wish  to  be  observed  by  anybody.  When  I  first  wenl 
ther.-  I  understood  that  it  was  positively  against  the  orders 
to  take  anything  in. 

■'I  can  Bpeak  of  other  e;ises  among  t he  patients;  two  or  three 
Others  in  my  ward  were  in  the  same  condition;  and  there  were 
others  who  came  to  their  death  from  the  bad  condition  of 
t hiiiLTs  and  the  hick  of  accessary  supplies.  That  is  my  pro- 
fessional opinion. 

'"I.  had  occasion  to  visit  the  entire  hospital  occasionally  and. 

r  as  1  saw,  its  condition  was  generally  the  same  as  I  have 

he. -ii  describing.     At  the  time  I.  wenl  there,  there  were,  I  think. 

from  the  besl  observation  I  could  make,  perhaps  2,000  or  2,500 

sick  in  that  hospital. 

"We  had  cases  of  chilblains  or  frost-bitten  feet.  .Most  gen- 
erally, in  addition  to  what  was  said  to  he  frost-bite,  there  was 
gangrene.     I   did  not  see  the  sores  in  the  original  chilblains. 


iMii      Report  op  andersonville  Monument  Commission 

1  do  not  think  I  can  say  if  there  were  any  amputations  or  any 
deal  lis  resulting  from  sufferings  of  thai  character,  qo1  having 
made  u|)  my  mind  as  to  whether  the  amputations  were  in  con- 
sequence of  chilblains  or  because,  from  accidental  abrading  of 
the  surface,  gangrene  had  set  in.  Bu1  for  a  while  amputations 
were  practiced  in  the  hospital  almost  daily,  arising  from  a 
gangrenous  and  scorbutic  condition,  which,  in  many  cases, 
threatened  the  saturation  of  the  whole  system  with  this  gan- 
grenous and  offensive  matter,  unless  the  limb  was  amputated. 
In  cases  of  amputation  of  that  sort,  it  would  sometimes  become 
necessary  to  re-amputate,  because  of  gangrene's  taking  hold  of 
the  stump  again.  Some  few  successful  amputations  were  made. 
]  recollect  two  or  three  which  were  successful.  I  kept  no  sta- 
tistics; those  were  kept  by  the  prescription  clerks  and  for- 
warded to  headquarters.  1  did  not  think  at  the  time  that  the 
surgeon-in-chief  did  all  in  his  power  to  relieve  the  condition 
of  those  men,  and  ]   made  my  report   accordingly. 

"'In  visiting  the  wards  in  the  morning  1  would  find  persons 
lying  dead;  sometimes  I  would  find  them  lying  among  the  Liv- 
ing. I  recollect  on  one  occasion  telling  my  steward  to  go  up 
and  wake  a  certain  one,  and  when  I  went  myself  to  wake 
him  I  found  he  was  taking  his  everlasting  sleep.  That  oc- 
curred in  another  man's  ward  when  1  was  officer  of  the  day. 
I'pon  several  occasions,  on  going  into  my  own  wards,  1  found 
men  whom  we  did  not  expect  to  die,  dead  from  the  sensation 
chilblains  had  produced  during  the  night.  This  was  in  the  hos- 
pital. I  was  not  so  well  acquainted  with  how  it  was  in  the 
stockade.  1  judge,  though,  from  what  I.  saw,  that  numbers 
suffered  in  the  same  way  there. 

"The  effed  of  scurvy  upon  the  systems  of  the  men.  as  it  de- 
veloped itself  there,  was  the  next  thing  to  rottenness.  Their 
limbs  would  become  drawn  up.  Scurvy  would  manifest  itself 
constitutionally.  If  would  draw  them  up.  They  would  go  on 
crutches  sideways,  or  crawl  upon  their  hands  and  knees,  or 
on  t  heii*haunches  and  feet,  as  well  as  they  could.  Some  could 
not  eat  unless  they  had  food  that  needed  no  mastication. 
Sometimes  they  would  be  furnished  beef-tea  or  boiled  rice,  or 
something  of  the  kind,  but  not  to  the  extent  which  1  would 
like  to  have  seen.  In  some  cases  they  could  not  eat  corn  bread  : 
their  teeth  would  be  loose  and  their  gums  all  bleeding.  I  have 
known   cases  of  that    kind.      I    do   not    speak   of  it    as  a   general 


Extracts  from   rm    Trial  of  Captain   Wikx         217 

thing.  They  would  ask  me  to  interest  myself  in  getting  them 
something  which  they  could  swallow  withoul  subjecting  them 
to  so  much  pain  in  mastication.  It  seems  to  me  I  did  express 
my  professional  opinion  thai  men  died  because  they  could  ao1 

i  at   t  he  rat  ions  t  hey   got. 

*'l  cannol  state  what  proportion  of  the  men  in  whose  cases* 
it  became  accessary  to  amputate  from  gangrenous  wounds,  and 
also  to  re-amputate  from  the  same  cause,  recovered.  Never 
having  charged  my  mind  on  the  subject,  and  not  expecting  to 
lie  called  upon  in  such  a  capacity,  I  cannol  give  an  approximate 
opinion  which  1  would  deem  reliable.  In  1864,  amputations 
from  that  cause  occurred  very  frequently,  indeed;  during  the 
Bhorl  time  in  1865  thai  I  was  there,  amputations  were  not  fre- 
quenl . 

"I  cannol  state  with  any  certainty  the  proportion  of  prison- 

-  treated  in  the  hospital  who  recovered  and  were  sent  bach 
to  the  Btockade.  There  were  clerks  appointed  to  keep  all 
those  accounts,  ami  I  tried  to  confine  myself  strictly  to  my 
own  duty,  so  did  not  interest  myself  in  any  statistical  enu- 
meration of  facts  <>r  data. 

"The  prisoners  in  the  stockade  and  the  hospital  were  not 

well  protected  from  the  rain;  they  were  protected  only  by 
their  own  meagre  means,  their  blankets,  holes  in  the  earth, 
and  such  things.  In  the  spring  of  1865,  when  1  was  in  the 
ikade,  I  saw  ;i  shed  thirty  feet  wide  and  sixty  feet  Long; 
the  sick  principally  were  in  that.  They  were  in  aboul  the 
same  condition  as  those  in  the  hospital.  As  to  the  prisoners 
rally,  their  only  means  of  shelter  from  the  sun  and  rain 
were  their  blankets,  if  they  carried  any  along  with  them.  I 
regarded  such  lack  of  shelter  as  a  source  of  disease.1' 

Authority  of  Wirz  Over  the  Hospital. 
By  Surgeon  A.  V.  Barrows,  27th  Massachusetts  Infantry. 

■"I  have  often  heard  Captain  Wirz  make  remarks#in  refer- 
ence to  the  hospital,  ;it  different  times.  I  have  Bometimes 
heard  him  say  that  he  would  Btarve  every  d     d  Yankee  there 

something  to  that  effeel  when  somebody  made  his  escape, 
or  attempted  to  <_ret  away.  Whenever  ;i  prisoner  came  there 
I  have  heard  him  make  such  threats.  I  have  heard  such  re- 
marks many  times  when  I  have  been  ;it  his  office,     lie  used  to 


218      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

come  into  the  hospital  aboul  once  a  week,  I  >  1 1 1  uever  unless 
he  was  Looking  after  somebody,  or  somebody  had  made  his 
escape.  I  have  seen  him  around  the  hospital,  also  this  man 
Turner  with  his  hounds.  We  looked  upon  Captain  Wirz  as 
the  proper  authority  to  govern  things  there,  not,  perhaps,  in 
The  medical  line,  yet  as  to  every  other  regulation.  As  to  the 
disciplint,  if  any  one  escaped  from  the  hospital  he  inflicted  the 
punishment;  he  ordered  the  men  put  into  the  stocks  or  the 
chain-gang.  I  have  seen  Union  soldiers  who  had  tried  to 
make  their  escape  and  been  caught,  put  into  the  chain-gang 
or  the  stocks  within  the  stockade. 

Rations  of  the  Prisoners  in  the  Hospital. 

"The  rations  of  the  sick  men  when  I  first  went  there  1  never 
weighed.  They  were  very  small,  indeed.  In  the  month  of 
June  the  patients  in  my  ward  got  the  same  as  the  others.  Tin- 
daily  rations  averaged  about  two  ounces  of  meat  a  day.  Tien 
it  was  bacon,  I  think.  There  were  no  vegetables  issued  in  that 
month,  or  in  the  fore  part  of  it,  at  least.  Their  diet  consisted 
of  two  ounces  of  bacon  and  a  small  piece  of  corn-bread  in  the 
morning,  and  at  night  perhaps  two  and  a  hall'  inches  square 
of  bread;  no  coffee,  no  tea,  no  sugar  at  that  time,  and  no  flour. 
Sometimes  there  was  a  little  rice  soup;  perhaps  a  gallon  of 
rice  to  thirty  gallons  of  water.  That  is  pretty  much  all  I  had 
to  live  on. 

"In  July  we  got  a  very  few  vegetables, — collards,  which  is 
a  species  of  cabbage,  yet  not  sufficient  to  give  the  patients  a 
tablespoonful  of  vegetable  matter  per  day.  Later  I  had  more 
vegetables,  though  not  every  day. 

"The  last  three  months  1  was  there  1  had  charge  of  a  surgic- 
al ward  where  the  patients  got  more  vegetables.  I  drew  sweet 
potatoes  for  them;  perhaps  they  would  get  a  piece  a  day  with 
their  other  ration  of  corn-bread.  There  were  a  few  times  when 
a  little  tea  was  issued;  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  pound  to  a  wara 
of  a  hundred  persons  for  a  week.  Thai  was  not  all  over  the  hos- 
pital,— merely  In  gangrene  and  surgical  wards.  Some  of  the 
patients  were  unable  to  eat  the  corn  bread;  it  was  unsifted, 
coarse,  and  not  \r\-y  clean.  Under  such  diet  the  patients  would 
become  reduced  in  strength  and  gradually  run  down  to  the 
verge  of  starvation.     Many  of  them  became  idiotic  from  want 


I.\ik\(  i-  prom   iiii.  Trial  op  Captaln   Wraz         219 

and  exposure,  and  from  the  lack  of  proper  food  to  sustain  the 
vital  i>o\\ 

I   -aw   other  evidences  of  starvation   manifested   by   these 
prisoners.     They  would  steal  from  each  other  the  Bmall  ration 
they  did  Lr«!.  or  steal  from  anybody.     They  would  take  any 
thing  they  could  gel  to  eat.     1  have  seen,  after  the  Btreel  bad 

d  policed  an<l  I). 'tore  the  dirt  was  carried  away,  prisoners 
Look  it  over  to  gel  a  potato  paring  or  something  of  that  kind. 
They  were  always  asking  for  something  to  eat,  saying  they 
were  hungry.  Many  of  these  Bick  men  could  doI  eat.  Prom 
the  effects  of  starvation  their  gums  were  bleeding,  and  then 
mouths  so  sore  that  they  were  unable  to  masticate.  1  remember 
an  instance  where  a  sick  man  picked  up  beans  or  peas  which 
had  been  eaten  and  vomited  up.  That  was  seen  many  a  time. 
It  was  a  common  occurrence  to  Bee  the  prisoners  wading  around 
in  the  creek  picking  up  the  raw  peas  that  had  passed  through 
the  feeble  stomachs  undigested,  rinse  them  in  the  filthy  water, 
and  cat  them  again.  Such  instances  as  that  were  common, 
indicating  starvation/' 

Vaccination  of  the  Prisoners. 

*1  had  in  my  ward  cases  of  vaccination.  Some  men  had  what 
1  call  vaccini  -  s;  they  wcit  in  the  arms,  usually:  sometimes 
in  tlie  axils.  They  were  the  result  of  vaccination  and  had.  in 
my  ..pinion,  every  Bymptom  of  secondary  syphilis.  A  person 
can  1»«'  impregnated  with  that  disease  by  inoculation;  it  is  so 
put  down  in  medical  history.  I  should  say  1  saw  two  or  three 
hundred  cases  of  that  description  in  the  course  of  my  stay 
there.  The  sores  were  as  large  as  my  hand,  ami  were  produced 
by  vaccination.  In  my  opinion  the  matter  used  must  have  been 
impure.  I  considered  it  as  poisonous,  judging  from  the  effects 
and  results;  there  was  every  appearance  of  secondary  syphilis 
in  t;  Amputations  were  necessary  from  that  cause,  and 

1  do  not  remember  of  one  living.     Some  may  have  recovered, 
i  not  dow  remember  such  a  case.     I  have  seen  men  die 
from   the   effects   of   such    vaccination   in    the    months   of  June, 
July  and  August,      particularly  in   1864.      I   have  had  converse 

tions  with  the  surgeons  about  that  matter,  and  some  of  them 

have  admitted   that,   in  their  opinion,  it    was   poisonous   matter. 

I  do  not  know  that  I.  called  Dr.  White's  attention  to  it  espe- 


220      Report  of  Andersonville  Moni  ment  Commission 

cially.  I  was  qoI  considered  as  a  privileged  character  there, 
and  so  had  n<>  opportunities  to  report.  Dr.  White  had  means 
of  knowing  it,  and  must  have  known  ii  ;  he  visited  the  hospital 
\  cvy  often. 

By  ( Oliver  B.  Fairbanks  ( Union). 

■*I  saw  cases  of  vaccination.  I  saw  several  hundred  who  had 
been  vaccinated.  Large  sores  originated  from  the  effects  of 
poisonous  matter.  They  were  the  size  of  my  hand  and  were 
on  the  outside  of  the  arms,  also  underneath,  in  the  arm-pits. 

1  have  seen  holes  eaten  under  the  arms  where  I  could  put  my 
list  in.  These  cases  were  in  the  stockade;  they  were  not  in  in. 
hospital.  I  never  was  in  the  hospital,  excepl  for  about  two 
hours  at  a  time.  I  went  out  to  see  my  father,  who  was  then 
in  the  hospital.  1  was  vaccinated  myself.  1  was  at  the  south 
gate  one  morning  when  the  vaccination  was  being  performed. 
While  I  was  standing  there  looking  on,  a  surgeon  came  to  me 
and  requested  me  to  roll  up  my  sleeves,  as  he  was  going  to  per- 
form the  operation  on  me.  I  told  him  I  could  not  consent  to 
such  an  operation.  He  called  for  a  file  of  guards,  and  I  was 
taken  to  Captain  Wiry. 's  headquarters.  Arriving  there,  <>nc  of 
the  guards  wenl  in  and  directly  Captain  Wirz  came  out  of  his 

office    paging;    he    wanted   to    know    where   that    'G d   d d 

Yankee  s n  of  a  b h'  was.     1  was  pointed  out   to  him  as 

being  that  person,  lie  drew  his  revolver  and  presented  it 
within  three  inches  of  my  face,  and  wanted  to  know  why  I 
refused  to  obey  his  orders.  He  did  not  state  what  orders. 
After  his  anger  had  subsided  a  little,  1  asked  him  to  allow  me 
to  speak.  He  said,  '(J — d  d — d  quick,  or  I'll  blow  your  brains 
out.'  I  told  him,  'Captain,  you  are  aware  that  the  matter 
with  which  I  would  he  vaccinated  is  poisonous,  and  therefore  1 
cannot  consent  to  an  operation  which  I  know  will  prove  fatal 
to  my  life.'  He  flirted  his  revolved  around  and  stated  that 
it  would  serve  me  (J — d  d — d  right,  and  thai  the  sooner  I  would 
die  the  sooner  he  would  he  rid  of  me.  He  ordered  the  guards 
to  take  me  away  and  have  a  hall  and  chain  put  upon  me  till  I 
would  consent  to  the  operation.  I  was  taken  away  to  where 
the  chain-gang  was  and  a  hall  and  chain  were  broughl  and  riv- 
eted to  my  leu-.  Then  I  was  turned  into  the  stockade  to  wear 
it  until  I  would  consent  to  the  operation.     I  wore  it  for  aboul 


Extracts  prom  the  Triai    op  Captain   Wih 

two  weeks,  when  1  consented  to  submil  to  the  operation.  I  had 
noticed  upon  several  occasions  thai  the  surgeons  were  verj 
careless  in  performing  the  operation;  their  instruments  were 
dull,  and  they  applied  the  matter  in  a  very  careless  manner, 
allowing  the  person  to  Lr»>  away  as  soon  as  they  had  pul  the 
matter  in,  and  without  bandaging  the  arms  in  any  way.  I  con- 
cluded thai  1  could  wash  the  matter  out,  and.  with  thai  calcu- 
lation, 1  consented  to  the  operation.  As  soon  as  i1  was  per- 
formed 1  w.-ni  immediately  to  the  brook,  took  a  piece  of  soap, 
rubbed  the  spol  and  rinsed  it,  and  bo  saved  myself.  The  vac- 
cine matter  did  m>i  work  in  my  system.  I  experienced  uo 
effects  from  it.  Up  to  that  time,  none  had  recovered  from  the 
-  of  vaccination.  After  thai  I  informed  several  others 
what  1  had  don.-  and  they  saved  themselves  in  the  same  man- 
ner. " 

Howell    Cobb,    Major  General   Commanding,  in   a    letter  to 
eral  S.  Cooper,  adjutant  general,  dated  al   Macon.  Qeorgia, 

Ma\    5,   lso4.  s;,id  : 

"General:  The  general  management  of  the  prison  under 
Colonel  Persons  is  good,  and  he  manifests  a  laudable  desire  to 

scharge  his  duties  in  the  most  efficienl  manner.  The  duties 
of  the  inside  command  are  admirably  performed  by  Captain 
Wirz,  whose  place  it  would  be  difficult  to  fill.  1  still  think 
the  rank  of  the  commanding  officer  of  the  post  should  be  a 
brigadier  general ;  in  view  of  the  number  of  troops  that  w  ill  be 
under  his  command  it  seems  to  me  he  should  have  that  superior 
rank  over  those  who  may  be  ordered  to  report  to  him." 

Reporl  of  inspection  of  military  prison  at  Andersonville  by 
I)  T.  ('handle!'.  Confederate  adjutant  general  and  inspector 
general,  to  Colonel  R.  II.  Chilton,  assistant  adjutant  general 
and  inspector  general. 

■".My  duty  requires  me  respectfully  to  recommend  a  change 
in  the  officer  in  command  <»f  the  post,  Brigadier  General  -I.  II. 
Winder,  ami  tin-  substitution  in  his  place  of  some  one  who 
unites  both  energy  and  good  judgmenl  with  some  feeling  of 
humanity   and   consideration    for  the   welfare  and   comfort 

as  is  consistent  with  their  safe  keeping  of  the  vast  number 
of  unfortunates  placed  under  his  control;  some  one  who  at 
least  will  not  advocate  deliberately  and  in  cold  blood  the  pro- 
priety of  leaving  them   in  their  present  condition  until   their 


222      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

aumber  has  been  sufficiently  reduced  by  death  to  make  the 
present  arrangemenl  Buffice  For  their  accommodation;  who 
will  not  consider  it  a  matter  of  self  -laudation  and  boasting  that 
he  has  never  been  inside  of  the  stockade,  a  place  the  horrors  of 
which  it  is  difficult  to  describe,  and  which  is  ;i  disgrace  to 
civilization;  the  condition  of  which  lie  might,  by  the  exercise 
of  a  little  energy  and  judgment,  even  with  the  limited  menus 
a1   his  command,  have  considerably  improved. 

In  obedience  to  instructions,  I  shall  now  proceed  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  army  of  Tennessee,  and  request  that  any 
communications  for  me  be  forwarded  there  to  the  care  of  the 
chief  of  staff. 

I  am,  Colonel,  very  respectifnlly,  your  obedient  servant, 

D.  T.  Chandler. " 

DOGS  OR  HOUNDS  AT  ANDERSONVILLE. 

The  following  extracts  were  taken  from  testimony  given  upon 
the  trial  of  Wirz.  Colonel  George  C.  Gibbs,  C.  S.  A.  on  duty  at 
Andersonville : 

"I  know  that  there  were  dogs  kept  on  the  place.  They  were 
intended,  on  the  escape  of  the  prisoners,  to  track  them,  so  that 
1  ley  could  be  recaptured.  They  were  used  in  that  wray.  I  do  not 
know  how  they  were  subsisted,  except  in  this:  that  after  the 
prison  became  almost  empty  of  prisoners,  when  there  were 
none  left  but  a  few  sick,  the  dogs  were  subsisted  by  corn  meal 
furnished  by  the  commissary.  I  hear  they  were  mustered  into 
the  confederate  service  as  horses,  but  I  do  not  know  of  my 
own  knowledge  that  they  were.  A  man  named  Turner  had 
them  in  charge;  I  do  not  know  his  given  name  or  what  be- 
came of  him." 

Nazareth  Allen,  Private  Third  Georgia  "Reserves,  C.  S.  A. 
says : 

"At  the  lime  that  these  thirteen  men  were  to  be  ironed,  one 
of  them,  whom  Ave  called  'Little  Frenchy'  got  away:  a  hound 
was  put  upon  his  track.  T  ran  down  to  the  little  swamp,  be- 
tween a  quarter  and  a  half  mile  off.  Just  as  I  got  to  the 
swamp  I  heard  a  shot  from  a  pistol,  and  T  saw  the  man  in  a 
tree.  Captain  "Wirz  came  up  and  ordered  the  man  to  come 
down.     The  man  begged  that  the  dogs  should  not  be  allowed 


Extracts  pkom  the  Trial  op  Captain  Wirz  22  I 

to  hurt  liim.  Ilr  made  the  man  come  down,  and  with  that  the 
dogs  rushed  a1  him.  I  could  Bee  the  doga  run  and  grah  ,inn 
by  the  legs.  Captain  Wirz  did  nol  try  to  keep  the  doga  from 
the  man,  though  he  could  have  done  bo.  I  do  oo1  know  who 
fired  the  pistol;  1  only  heard  the  report.  The  prisoner  had 
been  Bent  with  a  gang  two  days  before  to  be  chained.  He  was 
not  chained  afterward.  I  saw  him  two  or  three  days  after- 
warda  in  the  guard  quartera,  without  the  chains  upon  him; 
I  saw  him  sitting  and  walking  ahoul  in  there  aa  I  passed, 
I  did  n.»t  notice  hia  wounda;  I  was  no1  near  enough  to  him 
whether  he  bad  wounds  or  not. " 

William  Dillanl.  one  of  the  Confederate  guarda  al  Anderson- 
ville,  saj  - : 

"Hounds  were  kepi  there  to  catch  prisoners  trying  to  make 
their  escape, — and  our  own  men  alao.  1  saw  them  catch  a 
man  called  'Frenchy.'  7  was  walking  my  beat,  1  suppose  some 
three  hundred  yards  off.  T  saw  Captain  Wirz  and  Reed,  the 
provost  marshal,  and  the  man  with  the  dogs,  hunting  up  and 
down  before  they  started  on  the  man's  track.  After  a  time 
the  dogs  go1  on  the  trail  and  treed  the  man.  and  after  that  I 
saw  Captain  AVirz  conic  down  and  heard  a  pistol  or  gun  fired 
and  saw  the  smoke  rise.  T  was  more  than  three  hundred  yards 
from  where  they  were  with  the  dogs.  1  heard  the  men  halloo 
and  the  do<:s  making  a  fnss.  T  saw  the  smoke  rise  from  the 
gun.  T  could  not  tell  from  what  person  the  smoke  seemed  to 
rise.  It  waa  in  the  hushes  and  T  could  not  see.  T  could  not  Bay 
whether  the  man  waa  hurt  by  the  doga,  only  from  hearsay.  T 
saw  tli.-  doga  running  down  the  brook  before  they  treed  him. 
T  did  nut  s.-c  th< -in  at  all  when  they  were  at  him." 

Colonel  Jam  -  If    Fannin,  First  Regimenl  Georgia  Reserves, 

I        -     A.: 

8  rgeanl  Turner,  the  owner  of  the  dogs,  belonged  to  the 
first  regimenl  Georgia  reserves,  my  own  regiment,  company 
H.  T  waa  qo1  personally  acquainted  with  all  the  men  in  the 
differenl  companies;  T  do  not  know  that  T  ever  saw  Turner  un- 
til an  order  came  Prom  General  Winder,  in  June  or  July.  1Sf>4. 
requiring  this  man  Turner  t<»  report  to  him  in  person.  T 
recoiled  sending  for  the  man  and  his  reporting  to  me;  T  Benl 
him  over  to  General  Winder  and  he  earae  back  and  reported 


A.NDERSONVILLE   MONU  MENT  I  !OM  MISSION 

to  tne  thai  General  Winder  had  given  him  a  furlough  to  gu 
home;  I  s;ii<l  thai  thai  was  something  rather  irregular ;  I  asked 
him  what  business  he  was  ordered  on;  he  said  thai  the  general 

had  ordered  him  to  go  home  and  gel  a  pack  of  negro  dogs  he  had; 
and  to  bring  them  there  in  order  to  capture  prisoners.  1  lold 
him  that  I  should  objecl  to  anything  of  thai  kind.  I  was 
Deeding  all  the  men  1  had  at  the  time,  as  the  guard  duty  was 
very  heavy;  bu1  1  was  overruled.  He  was  sent  after  the  dogs, 
and  returned  with  them  in  the  latter  pari  of  June,  I  t  link,  or 
about  the  firsl  or  middle  of  July.  I  did  not  know  the  man  per- 
sonally until  he  reported  in  pursuance  of  that  order,  though 
his  company  had  joined  the  regimenl  about  the  15th  or  1:8th 
of  April,  1864.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  formed  in 
White  county,  Georgia,  and  that  its  members  mostly  Lived 
there.  He  was  detailed  by  General  Winder's  orders;  I  should 
not  have  respected  the  order  if  Captain  Wirz  had  detailed  that 
man.  Dogs  were  used  to  catch  the  confederate  soldiers;  some 
men  deserted;  the  dogs  were  put  on  the  track,  and  overtook 
them;  they  were  brought  in  by  this  man  Turner;  they  were 
used  for  capturing  Union  prisoners  and  Confederate  soldiers, 
I  believe.  I  know  of  but  one  instance  of  their  overtaking  Con- 
federate soldiers;  I  think  some  eight  or  nine  were  pursued  at 
that   time;  they  were  pursued  about  ninety  miles.'* 

James  P.  Stone,  Second  Vermont  Volunteers,  says: 
■"The  first  dogs  that  were  used  belonged  to  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Harris.  This  Harris  lived  some  live  or  six  miles,  I 
suppose,  from  Andersonville.  He  had  a  pack  of  eight  hounds, 
besides  one  dog  which  they  called  a  "catch  dog.'  That  dog 
always  went  with  the  pack.  Harris  did  the  hunting  there  for 
a  long  while  before  they  got  the  regular  prison  hounds.  Tie 
used  to  be  there  every  day,  and  always  in  the  morning  he 
would  make  a  circuit  around  the  stockade  to  see  if  any  had 
escaped,  and  if  any  had  he  would,  of  course,  follow  them;  lie 
would  always  scour  the  country  all  around.  It  was  said  he 
was  hired  by  the  authorities  to  do  that  :  that  was  his  business; 
T  presume  it  was.  Harris  was  there  from  the  first .  And  then 
they  had  some  more  dogs  which  a  man  by  the  name  of  Turner 
tended.  These  dogs  did  not  come  there,  1  think,  until  May  : 
at  any  rate  if  was  some  time  after  I  went  to  Andersonville 
before  the  second  pack   was  there.     T  think  there  were  two 


Extracts  prom   phe  Trial  of  Captain   Wirz         225 

parks.  Turner  tended  about  fifteen  dogs  which  were  kept  ex 
clusively  for  hunting  down  prisoners.  Turner's  dogs  were 
kept  at  the  post.  Those  dogs  were  fed  by  rations  drawn  from 
the  bakery,  the  same  as  the  prisoners  were  fed  on.  I  have  seen 
Turner  draw  rations  for  them  many  a  time.  He  had  a  young 
man  about  eighteen  or  twenty  years  old  who  assisted  him,  and 
that  young  man  used  frequently  to  draw  rations  for  the  dogs 
1  do  not  know  whether  they  were  <»n  the  provision  return.  I 
issued  the  rations  to  the  man  several  times.  He  would  usually, 
1  think,  present  a  paper.  I.  know  that  he  did  so  once  because 
1  showed  it  to  Beveral  prisoners  in  the  bakery,  with  Captain 
Wiiv.'s  name  on  it.  All  it  said  was,  'Give  this  man  all  the  bread 
and  meal  he  wants  for  the  dogs.'  Tim  man  would  tell  how 
much  bread  and  how  much  meat  he  wanted.  I  have  seen  a 
prisoner  who  had  been  torn  by  the  dogs.  In  the  month  of  July 
or  August,  perhaps  August,  I  saw  one  young  man  who  had 
made  his  escape.    I  don't  know  how  far  he  got.    I  think  not  a 

i  distance.  It  was  the  dogs  of  the  old  man  Harris,  that 
caught  him.  The  man  was  very  badly  torn.  They  were  carry- 
ing him  by  the  bakery.  They  stopped  there,  and  there  was 
where  T  saw  him.  1  asked  him  a  few  questions.  He  was  very 
w.-ak  and  could  hardly  answer.  His  legs  were  all  bitten  up  and 
he  was  bitten  a  great  deal  around  the  neck  and  shoulders,  He 
belonged  to  some  western  regiment;  T  think  an  Ohio  regiment, 
y.'t  T  would  not  lif  positive  of  that.  I  did  not  learn  his  name. 
He  said  he  had  made  his  escape  and  climbed  a  tree. 
"The  young  man.  ,-i>  I  ^-,\'n\.  was  very  weak  when  he  made  his 

[»»•:  in  fa<-t.  he  probably  ought  not  to  have  tried  it.  and 
then  he  was  torn  by  the  dogs  and  was.  of  course,  much 
weakened  by  the  loss  of  blood  which  he  had  to  incur;  his  h-Lrs 
were  torn  so  that  he  could  not  walk,  his  shoulders  and  neck 
Were  torn,  and  his  clothing  was  Dearly  all  torn  off  from  him. 
The  young  man  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  by  the  bakery  and. 
of  course,  we  all  went  out  to  see  him.  and  he  told  us  he  belonged 
to  a  western  r.-<_rimmit  ami  w,-is  trying  to  make  his  escape  to 
Atlanta;  the  do<_rs  overtook  him  and  he  climbed  a  tree;  and  he 
said  that  this  old  gentleman,  Harris,  and  Captain  Wirz  shook 

the  tree  no  that    he   fell   down,  and   then   they  allowed  the  dogs 
to  tear  him.     That  was  the  young  man's  statement.     I  nnder- 

id  that  he  died  that  ni<_rht.     I  did  not  see  him  after  that,  hut 

15 


226      Report   >f  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

it  was  said  nexl  morning  thai  he  was  dead,  and  I  suppose  he 
w  as.     1  fe  had  been  taken  to  1  he  hospital." 

Thomas  N.  Way,  Union  prisoner,  testifies  to  the  death  of  a 
young  man  by  the  name  of  Fred,  who  was  caughl  by  the 
hounds  in  attempting  to  escape. 

John  A.  ( lain,  Union  prisoner,  says  •. 

"I  knew  of  a  young  man's  being  broughl  to  the  stockade 
after  he  was  caughl  by  the  hounds.  I  went  out  to  see  him  and 
asked  him  whal  was  the  mailer.  He  1  old  me  lie  had  been 
caughl  by  the  bloodhounds  and  lorn  very  badly.  Pari  of  his 
cheek  was  torn  oft',  and  his  arms  and  hands  and  Legs  were  SO 
gnawed  thai  lie  lived  only  aboul  twenty-four  hours  after  being 
broughl  into  the  stockade.  Thai  was  in  October,  1  <S(>4,  I  think. 
I  do  nol  know  the  date  exactly  when  1  left  Andersonville.  T 
go1  to  Savannah,  Georgia,  in  December,  1804.  I  do  not  know 
the  name  of  the  man  who  was  bitten  by  the  do<»'s  and  died 
in  the  stockade.'' 

The  Dogs.     By  Dr.  Harrows  (Union). 

"I  have  seen  the  hounds  used  at  the  prison.  I  think  the  firsl 
time  1  saw  them  was  in  the  fore  part  of  the  month  of  .June. 
1864.  A1  thai  time  some  one  had  made  his  escape  from  the  hos- 
pital. The  dogs  were  brought  to  the  hospital  and  taken  round 
the  place  to  see  where  the  man  went  away,  and  then  they  took 
the  trail  and  caughl  the  man  and  he  was  brought  back  and  put 
in  the  slocks.  T  have  seen  Captain  Wirz  on  horseback  with  the 
party  who  were  running  the  hounds.  I  could  not  say  that  he 
was  punning  them.  Turner  had  command  of  them,  but* I  have 
seen  Wirz  order  the  men  off — T  mean  the  men  who  had  charge 
of  the  hounds.  I  have  heard  him  give  orders  to  Serjeant 
Smith,  I  think  his  name  was,  to  starl  the  hounds,  as  some  one 
had  go1  away  from  the  hospital,  or  something  to  that  effect,  at 
•i  good  many  different  times. 

■•|  remember  a  man's  making  his  escape  from  the  hospital 
in  July  and  being  overtaken  by  the  hounds.  A  large  portion 
of  his  ear  was  torn  off  and  his  face  mangled,  and  he  was  after- 
wards broughl  into  the  hospital.  The  man  got  well.  This 
was  in  July  or  August,  1864.  I  do  not  remember  the  exacl 
date.  I  remember  also,  thai  al  the  end  of  August,  or  in  Sep- 
tember.   1864,   a    man    who   had    been   bitten   badlv  by  the  dogs, 


RXTRACTS    PRO\l    THE    TRIAL   OP    CAPTAIN     W'n;  22" 

in  trying  to  make  his  escape,  was  brought  into  mj  ward  and 
died.  The  wound  took  on  gangrene,  and  this  caused  his  death. 
He  was  a  Union  prisoner.  I  am  qo1  certain  whether  he  was 
trying  to  escape  from  tin-  Btockade  or  the  hospital.  I  cannol 
state  the  exacl  date  of  his  death.  It  was  either  the  Ias1  of 
August  or  in  the  fore  pari  of  September.  It'  my  memory  serves 
me  right,  I  should  say  he  died  Pour  or  five  days  after  he  was 
torn  by  the  dogs.  I  know  the  wound  took  on  gangrene  and 
that  In-  died.  The  gangrene  was  manifested  in  the  wound, 
and  in  no  other  part.  He  was  bitten  through  the  throat  on 
the  side  <>f  the  neck  and  it  was  there  that  the  gangrene  set  in. 

CHAIN-GANG. 

John  P.  Heath,  Confederate  soldier,  rank  as  captain,  s,-iys: 
•|  reside  in  Macon,  Georgia.  I  have  been  in  the  confed- 
erate service,  in  186]  I  was  in  tli.'  20th  regiment  Georgia 
volunteers.  I  was  commissary,  with  the  rank  of  captain.  In 
April,  1864,  I  was  in  the  Georgia  Reserve  Corps.  I  was  on  duty 
at  Andersonville  from  May  till  October,  1864.  I  know  tin- 
prisoner;  I  have  seen  him  at  Andersonville.  I  understood  that 
In*  commanded  the  prison  at  Andersonville.  I  never  received 
any  orders  from  him  directly.  1  was  never  on  duty  at  the 
prison  bul  <>ne  day. 
"There  were  thirteen  prisoners  sent  over  from  headquar- 
a  to  be  ironed.  I  think  it  was  in  August;  I  was  officer  ol 
the  day.  They  were  sent  over  to  me  from  the  provost  mar- 
shal's office  to  be  ironed,  but  they  were  not  ironed  that  day. 
I  think  on  the  second  or  third  day  afterward  twelve  of  them 
were  ironed.  The  men  were  Bent  over  under  guard  with  an 
order  from  Captain  Wirz.  I  did  not  read  the  order.  I  was 
ordered  by  a  man  named  Reeves,  who  pretended  to  be  a  pro- 
•  marshal  at  Andersonville.  Tie-  men  came  from  Brigadier 
General  John  II.  Winder's  headquarters  on  the  occasion  I  have 
referred  to.    There  was  one  man  chained  in  the  gang  of  twelve 

who   was  siek   at    tie-   time   he  was  chained.      I    could    not    say   to 

my  certain  knowledge  what  became  of  him.  1  know  that  I  saw 
him  several  days  afterward  very  siek  :  every  man  who  was 
chained  with  him  objected  to  it.  The  man  had  the  diarrhea, 
I  should  judge  from  tin-  looks  of  his  clothes,  and  he  was  very 
lousy.     I  could  see  from  a  distance  the  lice  crawling  over  him. 


228      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

His  comrades  objected  to  being  chained  with  him  because  of 
his  condition;  their  objections  were  nol  heeded,  and  he  was 
chained  with  them." 

Alexander   Keiuiell,  Union  soldier,  says: 

"In  one  case  I  bad  a  conversation  with  a  man  in  Hie  hospi- 
tal who  had  been  taken  out  of  the  chain-gang,  and  I  saw  his 
body  carried  to  the  dead-house  three  days  after  I  had  the 
conversation  with  him.  lie  told  me  in  that  conversation  that 
he  had  not  been  able  to  walk  since  he  had  been  taken  out  of 
the  chain-gang,  lie  died  there  in  the  hospital.  That  was  in 
August,  1864.  The  man  was  very  much  emaciated  and  was 
sore  in  the  ankles  Avhere  the  ball  had  been  put  on.  I  saw  no 
other  marks  on  his  person." 

Andrew  J.  Spring,  Union  prisoner,  says : 

"During  the  night,  all  the  men  in  a  chain  gang  had  to  lie 
down  at  one  time:  when  one  was  sick,  and  so  obliged  to  lie 
down,  the  others  were  compelled  to  lie,  too.  They  were  outside 
of  the  stockade,  right  up  at  the  southwest  corner.  Those  men 
were  kept  there  for  two  months,  and  I  presume  longer.  1  can- 
not  testify  how  long,  but  it  was  all  of  two  months." 

Charles  E.  Tibbies,  Union  prisoner,  says: 

"I  saw  the  men  in  the  chain  gang  while  I  was  outside. 
I  saw  men  in  that  evil  contrivance  who  were  nothing  but 
skeletons.  The  first  man  I  saw  in  it  had  a  shackle  around  one 
foot  attached  to  a  large  ball,  I  cannot  say  what  size,  but  I 
think  was  a  sixty-four  pounder.  There  were  six  in  a  row, 
each  of  them  having  one  of  his  legs  fastened  to  a  large  ball.  On 
the  other  leg  there  was  another  ball,  I  think  a  thirty-two 
pounder,  with  a  short  chain.     The  next   squad  that    I  saw  there 

it  may  have  been  part  of  the  same,  who  were  not  yet  re- 
leased,— were  fastened  in  the  same  way,  only  cadi  had  an  iron 
band  around  his  neck  and  a  chain  running  from  one  to  the 
ot  her  (dear  round.'' 

Iioberl   Tate,   Union  prisoner,  says: 

"I  have  nol  seen  Captain  Wirz  put  any  men  in  the  chain- 
gang,  bul  he  gave  the  orders  to  have  it  done.  I  saw  twelve 
Mien    chained    together;    they    had   three   balls,    each    weighing 


Extracts  prom  the  Trial  op  Captain   Wirz  229 

si\t\   pounds,  in  the  center  of  them  and  then  on  each  leg  on 
the  outside  there  \\  .1--  a   ball  of  thirty-two  pounds,  and  they 
were  chained  together  by  the  oecks  each  chain  aboul   a   Cool 
and   a   half  long,  and   with   iron   collars   around   their   oecks. 
They  had  been  put  in  chains  for  attempting  to  escape.     I  saw 
men  put  in  chains  when  ladies  were  present.     I  Baw  them  put 
in  when  Captain   Wir/.'s  wife  and   his  daughters  were  there. 
I  saw  the  captain  give  the  orders  to  walk  them  around  and 
show  bis  lady  and  daughters  tin1  way  they  walked;  they  stood 
and    laughed    at    it    and    thoughl     it    was    sport.      Thai     was    in 
July.    Il«'  made  them  walk  aboul  twenty  yards.    1  saw  men  die, 
nnt  exactly  in  the  chain-gang;  they  were  released  aboul   ten 
hours  before  they  died.    One  man  was  very  sick  when  he  was 
put  in.     II.'  remained  in  the  chain-gang  aboul  two  days.     One 
evening  the  surgeon  in  charge  told  Captain  Wirz  he  had  bet- 
ter take  that  man  out;  Captain  Wirz  gave  orders  to  have  him 
released.     The   nexl    morning   I    saw   the   man    hauled    to   the 
graveyard;   I   do  not    know  whether  the  chains  were  on   him 
when   he  died   or  not. " 

\'>y  Dr.  Barrows  I  Union  Prisoner. 

'"I  have  Been  six  men  in  the  chain-gang,  and  I  remember  see- 
ing eighteen  men  in  a1  one  time;  a  heavy  chain  ran  from  one 
to  the  other,  and  round  their  oecks,  chaining  all  together  in  a 
circle  as  it  were.  They  were  connected  with  handcuffs  <>n  their 
hands,  and  halls  and  chains  to  their  feel  connected  in  some  way 
with  the  circular  chain  thai  ran  from  one  to  the  other.  That 
is  as  oear  as  I  can  describe  it.  A  :!*2  pound  ball  was  attached 
to  the  chain,  or  a  smaller  hall,  perhaps  ten  or  twenty  pounds 
J  am  not  able  to  state  the  exacl  size.  The  prisoners  were  con- 
fined in  the  chain-gang  all  hours  of  the  day.  I  have  known  of 
some  men  being  there  for  a  week,  and  some  two  weeks,  at  dif- 
ferenl  times.  The  time  would  vary.  The  men  would  have  to 
l»e  there  as  l«»i  ptain  Wirz  saw   I'm   to  let   them  remain. 

They  were  without  Bhelter  in  both  sun  and  rain.     At  the  besl 
th<-  effeel  upon  the  men  must  he  to  weaken  them     reduce  their 

■iiL'tli.      I    cannot    testify   that    I    saw    any    prisoners   die    from 

being  confined  in  the  chain  gang.     I  have  no  doubt  of  the  fact, 
although  I  did  not  Bee  t he  men  di 


230      Report  op  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

THE  STOCKS. 

By  Dr.  A.  V .  Barrows. 

"The  stocks  consisted  of  a  frame  aboul  six  Peel  high,  with 
boards  thai  shut  together  leaving  jusl  room  enough  for  a  man's 
neck,  and  arranged  so  thai  his  arms  were  fastened  at  full  Length 
each  way,  his  Feet  just  touching  the  ground.  I  have  seen  cases 
where  the  men  could  have  the  privilege  of  standing  on  their 
feet  with  their  whole  weight  ;  and  I  have  also  seen  them  where 
they  could  merely  touch  the  ground  with  their  toes.  1  have 
seen  men  punished  in  the  stocks  both  ways.  There  was  a  dif- 
ferent kind  of  stocks  from  that  I  have  described.  There  was 
one  kind  for  putting  the  men's  feet  in  the  stocks,  and  halls 
and  chains  on  their  hands,  witli  their  feet  elevated.  'Hie  men 
would  be  lying;  or  I  do  not  know  but  that  they  might  sit  up. 
I  do  not  remember  any  other  description  of  stocks  hut  that. 

By  Nazareth  Allen. 

"I  have  seen  the  stocks  and  seen  men  in  them;  I  have  seen 
several  put  into  the  stocks,  and  some  ten  or  twelve  in  the  chain- 
gang.  I  know  that  one  prisoner  died  in  the  chain-gang  or 
stocks;  1  won't  be  certain  which,  yet  I  think  in  the  stocks.  I 
think  it  was  some  time  in  August,  1864.  I  do  not  know  what 
his  sickness  was;  he  appeared  to  be  sick  when  1  saw  him.  I 
saw  him  only  once  or  twice,  and  afterwards  I  saw  him  dead. 
I  don't  recollect  how  long  afterwards;  I  was  passing  there 
almosl  rvrvy  day  for  several  days;  I  cannot  say  how  long  he 
was  confined  in  the  stocks.  There  were  several  in  the  stocks. 
I  do  not  know  why  this  man  was  placed  in  there;  I  think', 
1  hough,  it  was  for  trying  to  escape.  The  stocks  were  between 
Captain  Wirz's  headquarters  and  the  stockade, — on  the  road 
you  would  take  in  going  to  the  stockade." 

WHIPPING. 

Vicenxio  Bardo,  Union  prisoner,  1  est  i ties  that,  having  disguised 
himself  in  an  attempt  to  escape,  he  was  hrought  back  and  put 
into  the  stocks  by  the  officers,  who  afterward  give  him  twenty- 
five  lashes  on  his  hack.  Me  was  then  taken  out  of  the  stocks 
and  returned  to  the  stockade  for  four  hours;  and  then  was 
placed  in  the  stocks  for  another  four  hours. 


Extracts  prom    mm    Trial  of  Captain   Wir  231 


William  Henry  Jennings,  Union  prisoner  colored  .  testified 
to  being  whipped  with  thirty  lashes  by  order  of  Wirz,  in 
March,  1S<>1.  They  were  inflicted  by  Turner,  the  man  who  ran 
the  hounds,  upon  the  km-  back  of  the  soldier.  He  was  im- 
mediately placed  in  i he  stocks. 

John  Fisher,  another  colored  soldier,  testifies  to  having  been 
whipped  with  thirty-nine  lashes,  and  bucked  and  gagged,  in 
October.  The  witness  also  speaks  of  [saac  Hawkins,  Abe  Wood- 
ward,  and    George    Washington    <-is   having    I □    whipped    a1 

the  prison. 

Henry  C.  Lull,  Union  prisoner,  testifies  to  having  seen  a 
colored  soldier  whipped  there.  \\<-  was  whipped  for  no1  going 
out   to  work   in  the  morning 

SHOOTING   OF   PRISONERS    Bl    THE    GU  \RD. 

By  \)v.  Barows  I  Union  . 

I  have  often  heard  (';ipt;iin  Wirz  tell  the  guard  al  the  hos- 
pital thai  it'  any  of  tints.'  Yanks  tried  to  gel  away  to  shool 
them.  We  had  no  dead  line  established  there.  I  remember 
<»ii<-  of  <>ui-  soldiers  being  shol  in  the  hospital.  He  was  a  man 
from  my  ward,  [don'1  remember  his  name,  It  was  in  August, 
L864.  Mr  w;is  cold,  and  there  was  a  fire  inside  the  enclosure 
in  the  south  pari  of  the  hospital.  It  w;is  swampy  there,  and 
there  was  no  ground  for  the  guard  to  stand  <>n.  and  so  they 
were  stationed  inside  the  hospital  a1  one  portion  of  it.  Where 
this  Bhooting  happened  the  board  fence  came  down  to  the 
swamp,  and  there  the  guards  were  on  the  other  side.  This 
w;i>  a  patienl  in  my  ward.  lit-  u<>i  up  to  i:<>  ;in<l  warm  himself 
beside  the  fence,  perhaps  five  or  six  feel  from  it.  A  confeder- 
ate soldier  pul  his  gun  barrel  through  the  fence  and  shut  him, 
breaking  his  thigh.  His  limb  was  amputated  by  Dr.  White. 
Within  five  to  seven  days  he  died.  !!•'  was  shol  inside  of  the 
hospital.     This  happened  Bometime  in  August,  1864." 


'2->'2      Report  of  AndersonvitjLE  Monument  Commission 

By  Thos.  C  Alcoke  (Union). 

"One  day  there  was  a  man  sitting  down,  -a  kind  of  weakly 
man.    Captain  Wirz  passed  into  the  stockade,  when  this  man 

gol  up  and  asked  him  if  he  could  go  0U1  to  gel  sonic  fresh  air. 
Captain  Wirz  asked  him  what  he  meant  by  that.  The  poor 
fellow  wormed  around  and  said  he  wanted  air.  There  was 
something  else  said,  when  Captain  Wirz  wheeled,  pulled  out  a 
revolver  and  shot  him  down.  This  was  sometime  in  the  sum- 
mer and  two  months  after  I  got  there.  The  ball  took  effect 
in  the  breast;  he  died  about  two  or  three  hours  afterwards. 
After  that  I  was  standing  pretty  close  by.  I  said  something 
to  Captain  Wirz  that  he  did  not  like;  he  turned  around  and 
said  1  had  better  look  out  or  he  would  put  me  in  the  same 
place.  I  spoke  the  way  I  felt,  saying  that  I  was  not  a  bit 
afraid  of  it.  Pretty  soon  afterwards  Captain  Wirz  came  in 
with  a  corporal  and  two  guards  and  put  me  in  irons.  He 
kept  a  ball  and  chain  on  me  the  whole  time  I  was  there.  I 
kept  working  at  the  ball  and  chain  every  day,  and  at  last  I 
got  it  so  I  could  get  it  off,  and  I  made  my  escape  from  the 
prison.  I  went  from  the  prison  to  St.  Louis,  from  there  to 
Memphis  and  from  Memphis  to  my  regiment." 

By  Samuel  D.  Brown   (Union). 

"I  saw  Captain  Wirz  while  at  Andersonville.  I  knew  him 
to  commit  acts  of  cruelty — once  especially.  On  or  about  the 
15th  of  May,  1864,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  my  parents  and  took  it 
to  the  south  gate  where  the  letter-box  was.  As  I  came  up  near 
the  gate  I  saw  a  cripple — a  man  with  one  leg — on  crutches;  he 
had  lost  the  other  leg  above  the  knee.  He  was  asking  the 
sentinel  to  call  Captain  Wirz.  He  called  him  and  in  a  Pew 
minutes  he  came  up.  I  stopped  to  sec  what  was  going  to  be 
done.  The  captain  came  up  and  the  man  asked  him  to  take  him 
outside  of  the  prison  as  he  had  enemies  in  the  camp.  I  pre- 
sume it  was  Captain  Wirz.  I  did  not  know  him  so  well  then. 
Captain  Wirz  was  the  man  that  was  called.  This  cripple  asked 
him  to  take  him  out  ;  he  said  his  leg  was  not  healed  and  that 
lie  had  enemies  in  camp  who  clubbed  him.  Captain  Wirz  never 
answered  him.  but  he  said  to  the  sentinel,  'Shoot  that  one- 
legged   Yankee  devil.'     I  was  there  and  heard  the  order,  and 


Cil  \i;i  i  s    H.    RUSS1  LL 

Secretary   of   the   Commission 


I  '•  iic  x -  i-  prom   in,    Trial  of  Captain   Wirz  235 

saw  the  man  turn  on  his  crutches  to  go  away.  As  he  turned 
thf  sentinel  fired,  and  the  ball  struck  him  on  the  head  and 
passed  oul  at  the  lower  jaw.  The  man  fell  over  and  expired 
in  ;i  few  minutes.  The  prisoner  was  perhaps  two  feel  inside 
the  dead  line,  which  was  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  from  the 
Btockade,  and  almost  parallel  with  it.  so  that  the  man  was 
probably  thirty  feel  away  from  the  muzle  of  the  gun." 

By  ( lharles  1 1.  Russell  I  1  fnion  . 

"I  saw  a  man  shot  at  the  creek  one  morning  in  June.  We 
were  down  for  water.  There  was  a  big  crowd  there.  The 
ground  near  the  creek  was  very  slippery  where  the  boys  were 
running  in  and  oul   and  spilling  water.     A   fellow    there,  who 

looked  very  weak  and  sick,  tried  to  get  some  water,  hut  he 
slipped  and  fell,  sticking  his  arm  under  the  dead  line,— nothing 
but  his  arms.  1  was  within  six  feet  of  him  when  the  guard 
raised  his  gun  and  tired  and  shot  him  down.  The  man  did  not 
speak  a  word  afterwards. 

*'l  do  not  know  that  man's  name  nor  his  regiment.  I  did 
not  see  Captain  Wirz  present  at  that  time.  About  the  2<>th 
of  duly.  I.  think,  there  was  a  man  shot  on  the  south  side,  at  a 
little  spring  where  they  had  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground  aboul 
eight  feet  from  the  dead  line  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek. 
!!••  was  there  getting  water;  quite  a  number  were  getting 
water  at  the  same  time.  They  were  crowding  around  to  see 
who  would  Lr«'t  the  water  first.  This  man  got  crowded  inside 
the  deadline  and  the  guard  shot  him.  The  guard  stood  on  the 
first  post  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek.  Captain  Wirz  came 
along  shortly  afterwards  and  went  to  the  stand  where  i  n. 
sentry  was.  and  I  saw  him  shake  hands  with  the  sentry. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  sentry  went  down  and  another  soldier 
took  his  place.  When  he  shook-  hands  with  the  sentry  he 
called  him  a  bully  fellow,  or  something  of  that  sort.  I  heard 
nothing  said  aboul  furloughs  at  the  time.  Ai  one  time  I  was 
detailed  to  iro  out  and  gei  some  wood.  There  was  a  confeder- 
ate soldier  who  made  a  practice  of  going  Out  in  the  woods 
where  tin-  hoys  went    for  fuel   and   trading  with   them   there, 

out    of    tin-    s i lt  1 1 1    of    the    officers.       II''    said    that    there    was    an 


retary  of  i li « •  Wisconsin  Monument  Commission 


236      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

order  oul  thai  they  would  gel  furloughs  for  every  Yankee  they 
killed." 

CONDITION    OF  THE   PRISONERS   IX    THE  STOCKADE. 

By  Felix  De  La  Baume  (Union). 

■•|  left  Andersonville,  finally,  Apri]  19,  1865;  we  were  once 
before  taken  away  as  far  as  Tlioniasville  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
change, bu1  we  had  to  return.  It  was  the  4th  of  April  when 
we  left  there  the  first  time.  On  coming  to  Andersonville  1 
had  no  shelter  whatever.  In  Richmond  everything  of  value 
had  been  taken  from  me, — my  watch  and  chain,  and  $250.00 
in  money;  everything  was  taken  from  us;  we  had  to  strip  our- 
selves as  far  as  to  the  shirt.  The  provost  marshal  in  Richmond, 
with  several  of  his  men,  searched  us  there  and  took  everything 
away  from  us.  Coining  to  Andersonville  I  had  no  blanket  or 
anything  of  the  kind ;  I  was  put  into  the  stockade  and  had  to  lie 
down  and  sleep  wherever  I  could  find  a  place;  it  was  very 
difficult  to  find  a  room  even  in  the  sand  and  mud  to  lie  down 
and  sleep  without  being  trampled  on." 

By  Charles  H.  Russell  (Union). 

"About  one-quarter  of  the  entire  stockade  was  swamp.  That 
swam])  was  covered  eighteen  inches  or  two  feet  deep  with  mag- 
gots, and  you  could  see  them  all  in  a  ferment  crawling  around. 
We  were  obliged  to  go  into  the  swamp.  When  1  first  entered 
the  prison  we  had  to  wade  through  it  to  get  to  the  water  in  the 
creek.  I  have  seen  men  in  there  digging  roots  to  get  wood  to 
cook  their  meals  with.  They  would  dig  because  the  roots  and 
Stumps  and  everything  else  that  would  burn  had  been  dug  out 
of  the  dry  ground.  They  had  to  dig  there  or  eat  their  meals 
uncooked.  Thai  was  in  the  months  of  May,  June,  -Inly  and 
Aimiist  ;  along  in  -Inly  they  commenced  1<>  bring  dirt  down  from 
the  hills  to  cover  the  swamp.  Before  I  left  they  had  got  a  good 
portion  of  it,  perhaps  half,  covered,  and  the  men  were  tenting 
on   it." 

By    Dr.  F.  G.  Castlen,  Confederate. 

"I  have  been  in  the  Confederate  army  during  the  last  two 
years;  from  May  until  September,  1864,  at   Andersonville,  the 


Extracts  prow  the  Trial  of  Captain   Wirz         237 

remaining  portion  of  the  lime  in  South  Carolina.  I  was  sur 
geon  of  the  Third  Georgia  Reserves  while  al  Andersonville.  I 
occasionally  had  opportunities  of  observing  the  prisoners  in  the 
•kade  al  Audersonville.  Their  condition  \\  .is  deplorable; 
language  could  nol  express  the  condition  in  which  I  saw  them 
at  that  time.  The  stench  was  intolerable.  It  sometimes  came 
to  my  camp,  a  half  mile  distant.  It  was  only  during  an  easl 
wind  thai  I  was  troubled  with  the  stench  arising  from  t  lie  stork 
ade.  I  saw  negroes  at  work  there  al  one  time.  I  do  not  know- 
in  w  hai   numbers,  twenty  or  thirty,  I   suppose. " 

PRIVATE     PROPERTY     TAKEN      PROM     PRISONERS. 

By  Thos.  ('.  AJcoke.  I  Union). 

■  When  1  arrived  at  Andersonville  I  was  searched  and  my 
cooking  utensils  and,  money  were  taken  from  me;  Captain 
Wirz  took  litem  from  me.  Yes.  I  know  Captain  Wirz.  He 
took  from  me  a  bell  with  $150  in  gold,  and  the  balance  in 
nbacks,  amounting  i<>  $280  altogether.  He  also  took  from 
me  my  pockel  knife,  a  breasl  pin,  and  a  gold  ring  that  I  had 
in  my  pocket-book,  lie  nev<  r  returned  any  of  the  property  in 
me. " 

By  (diaries  II.  Russell  I  Union). 

"When  I  gol  there  I  was  taken  to  Captain  Wiiv.'s  headquar- 
ters, where  I  gave  in  my  name  and  regiment.  Captain  Wirz 
was  in  the  office  at  the  lime,  and  when  he  heard  me  name  my 
regiment,  he  gave  his  orderly  orders  to  '"take  every  d  n  thing 
that  Yankee  cavalry  S—  n  of  a  b — h  has*'  :  and  the  orderly  tooZi 
everything  I  had.  I  had  been  wounded  in  my  left  hand,  and 
had  a  ring  on  one  of  my  fingers  thai  I  thoughl  I  couldn'1  gel 
off,  I  was  so  badly  hurt;  hut  the  orderly  came  and  look  the 
ring  away  from  me." 

Q.    What    else  was  taken   from  yon  .' 

A.  "I  didn '1  have  anyl hing  else  io  take. " 
T«»  the  Courl  :  "I  had  on  a  shirl  and  a  pair  of  pants  and 
an  old  pair  of  hoots:  they  did  not  take  those  The  rin<_;'  which 
was  taken  from  me  was  never  returned  to  me.  I  do  not  know 
who  gol  it.  I  know  the  orderly  al  Captain  Wirz's  headquar 
ters  look    i  from  me,  and  ihat  is  1 1n-  Ias1  I  ever  saw  of  it." 


238      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

R  \Tlo\s. 

I  '>y  ( Oliver  I  >.  Fairbanks  ( I  'nion  . 

*'l  noticed  storehouses  a1  the  depot  when  I  was  living  there 
the  first  time.     That   was  in  September,  1864.     I  saw  a  Large 

lov;  building  about  a  story  and  a  half  high,  will)  one  of  the 
doors  open.  It  was  pretty  well  stored  with  provisions.  I  also 
saw  a  large  amounl  on  the  platform.  They  were  all  in  sacks. 
I  did  not  see  anything  besides  saeks.  .My  rations  for  twenty- 
Pour  hours  1  could  eat  in  one  meal— and  slill  be  hungry.  The 
quality  of  my  rations  was  very  inferior.  They  consisted  of 
corn  meal  of  the  coarsest  kind,  sometimes  very  poorly  baked 
and  Vi'vy  filthy,  a  greal  many  flies,  and  sometimes  maggots, 
baked  in  it.  We  also  go1  beans  which  were  cooked  pods  and 
all,  and  we  often  found  in  them  stones  as  large  as  marbles. 
These  rations  were  not   weighed." 

SUPPLIES   FKo.M    THE   NORTH. 

By  -lames  l\.  Davidson  (Union). 

"I  have  seen  Captain  Wirz  use  crackers  and  cheese  and  dried 
I  eel*,  rations  belonging  to  Union  prisoners.  He  was  making  a 
breakfasl  of  it  one  morning  in  his  office,  the  morning  when  I  was 
paroled.  I  do  not  recollect  seeing  him  usine;  these  supplies  more 
than  once.  I  have  been  very  often  at  his  office,  and  I  would 
always  see  a  box  of  sanitary  provisions  open  there.  I  have  seen 
boxes  opened  al  the  depot.  I  do  not  know  that  he  sent  the  sani- 
tary provisions  into  the  stockade  for  the  soldiers.  I  do  not  know- 
thai  those  sanitary  boxes  were  sent  to  Ins  office  for  that  purpos 
I  do  not  think  they  could  gel  in  there  without  his  permission.  F 
never  saw  him  eating  them  but  that  one  morning  for  breakfast. 
I  never  saw  1  hem  being  used  anywhere  else.  T  saw  boxes  at  1  he 
depot,  open.  I  believe  that  the  quartermaster's  building  was 
the  only  place  in  which  they  were  stored  away.  I  saw  a  large 
number  of  boxes  at  the  depot  in  July  or  August.  1  should 
indue  that  I  saw  there  400  or  500  boxes  of  different  sizes.  Some 
of  them  were  large  dry  goods  boxes.  Some  of  them  were  ordi- 
nary boxes,  such  as  hard  tack'  is  put  in.  They  were  not  all  of 
that  description;  some  of  them  were  larger.     They  seemed  to  be 


E3  \ii;  \»  rs  FiiOM    i  in    Tki  \i.  of  C  vptain   Wir 

generally  of  that  size.  I  do  nol  know  what  was  in  ."til  of  them. 
I  did  oot  examine  any  of  them.  I  do  not  know  how  many  ol 
them  were  open.  I  did  see  dried  Fruit  and  crackers  in  thos»' 
thai  were  open.  Some  of  the  fruit  was  in  eans  and  some  of  i 
was  nnt.  The  boxes  at  the  <l<'p«>t  were  right  west  of  the  com 
raissary  building  not  adjoining  the  rebel  commissary  building. 
There  was  not  room  for  more  than  a  wagon  to  drive  between  th  • 
buildings  and  the  boxes.  They  did  not  lie  just  as  they  were 
taken  off  the  cars.  They  had  heen  hauled  out  there.  They  re 
mained  there  .-ill  summer.     The  piles  did  not  increase 

By  Prank  Maddox,  i  1  Inion  . 

'  I  saw  thirteen  boxes  of  sanitary  sti  res  come  there;  1  helped 
unload  them  and  put  them  in  Captain  Wirz's  office.  I  do  not 
know  what  became  of  them.  They  gave  the  men  at  the  cook- 
house some  and  some  were  sent  to  the  hospital.  I  do  not  know 
what  became  i  f  the  balance.  I  saw  Captain  Wirz  wearing  blue 
pants  and  sanitary  shirts.  We  asked  him  for  some  of  the 
clothes  and  he  would  not  give  them  to  us.  We  were  naked 
and  barefooted.'' 

CAPTAIN    WIRZ '    RECEIPTS   FOR   SUPPLIES. 

I  [eadquai  ters  ( lommandant   of  Prison, 
Camp  Sumter,  Nov.  12,  1864 
Captain:     I    received    yesterday    by    railroad      Is      eighteen 
packages  of  clothing   for  the   federal    prisoners  of  war  at    this 
post,  to-wil  : 

Five  bales  of  blankets,  consisting  of  •">M!»  pice.'-. 
One  box  of  shoes,  consisting  of  60  pairs. 
I-     ir  boxes  of  pants,  consisting  of  240  pieces. 
Three  boxes  ot  drawers,  consisting  of  -'tixi  pieces. 
One  box  of  socks,  consisting  of  396  pieces. 
Pour  boxes  of  shirts,  consisting  of  324  pieces. 
I   shall   distribute  them   without   delay  and    forward  you   the 
ipts  of  tlir  prisoners,  \\  hen  completed. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

II.  Wirz, 

(  ' a  i>l il  i  a    (  ' I'm  inn  m! i  in/    I' i  ISOIl, 

Captain  T.  W.  Neely, 

Assistanl  Quartermaster. 


240      Report  of  Andprsonville  Moni  ment  Commission 

By  Win.  Bull,  (  Union  . 

"I  saw  sanitary  clothing  there.  Out  of  every  hundred  men 
about  icn  go1  <i  little  pants  or  something  of  thai  kind.  1  saw 
rebels  have  some  of  the  clothing  on — pants,  shoes  and  blankets. 
I  do  qo1  know  how  they  ^ol  them.  I  saw  some  rebel  sergeants 
have  them.  Captain  Wirz  gave  me  orders,  when  I  wenl  to 
Colonel  Thomas's  house,  not  to  go  into  Ids  house.  Mrs.  Thomas, 
the  lady  I  was  workng  for,  told  me  one  day  to  go  over  there.  1 
told  her  what  Captain  Wirz  had  said.  She  said  thai  it  made  do 
difference,  and  she  sent  me  over  with  a  note.  1  passed  through 
two  or  three  rooms  in  Captain  Wirz'  house,  and  in  one  room  I 
saw  two  or  three  boxes.  I  had  heard  that  he  had  some  shoes 
there.  T  looked  into  one  box  and  saw  some  sanitary  shoes  in  it. 
T  do  not  know  what  was  in  the  other  boxes.  1  saw  sanitar  ' 
shoes  on  his  nigger's  feet,  which  he  had  given  to  her.  I  saw  two 
or  three  pair  that  she  had.  These  boxes  were  common  shoe 
boxes  about  a  foot  and  a  half  wide  and  four  or  five  feet  long." 

AUTHORITY   OF   WIRZ   OVER   THE   HOSPITAL. 

Q.  Who  had  control  of  the  hospital  so  far  as  its  discipline  was 
concerned?  Who  had  command  of  the  guards  stationed  about 
it? 

A.  There  was  always  a  sergeant  at  the  gate  who  was  under 
the  control  of  Captain  AVirz. 

Q.  Had  Captain  AVirz  any  command  over  yon  surgeons,  other 
than  that  of  stationing  the  guards  about  yon  and  giving  yon 
passes  to  the  hospital? 

A.  Under  his  orders,  which  T  had  occasion  to  see  once,  T  think 
his  power  was  almost   absolute. 

Q.  Had  Captain  Wirz  other  command  over  you  than  that  -f 
allowing  yon  to  go  back  and  forth  to  the  hospital  on  his  passes? 
Had  he  control  over  the  administrations  of  your  duties? 

A.  He  did  not  exercise  that  control,  though  his  orders  gave 
him  such   power. 

Q.  Did  the  prisoner  ever  state  to  yon  that  he  had  command 
over  your  action  in  the  administration  of  your  duties' 

A.     \\r    did. 

<w>.  state  the  circumstances. 


I\\tk\<   PS    FROM    THE    TBIAL   OF    CAPTAIN    WlRZ  I'll 

\  At  one  time,  in  consequence  of  a  difficulty  between  one  of 
my  assistants  and  Captain  Wirz,  \\>'  had  occasion  to  call  foi 
these  orders,  and  the  orders  were  presented.  Assistanl  Burgeon 
Dr.  James  had  written  ;i  communication  to  me  aboul  the  pun 
ishmenl  of  one  of  the  hospital  attendants  of  his  division  by 
Captain  Wirz,  which  communication  I  indorsed  and  senl  to  Dr. 
Clayton,  who  was  then  Benior  Burgeon.  He  forwarded  it  to 
Colonel  Thurlow,  who  was  then  commandant  of  the  posl  ;i1  An- 
dersonviile,  and  it  was  referred  to  Captain  Wirz  for  remarks. 
When  the  paper  was  returned  to  Colonel  Thurlow  I  am  nol  able 
to  Bay,  1  »i 1 1  it  never  came  back  to  me.  No  indorsement  was  pul 
upon  the  paper,  but  .1  reply  was  made  in  a  communication  from 

Captain  Wirz,  which  reply  made  it  n ssary  I'm-  \)v.  James  t.i 

find  <>ut  what  were  the  orders.     In  other  words,  it  made  it  a< 

for  us.  as  medical  officers,  t<>  know  the  relations  which  we 
held  with  the  officers  or  the  post.  We  found  out  from  the  orders 
that  we  held  no  power,  that  we  had.  you  may  say,  no  rights ;  and 
that  if  Captain  Wirz  fell  disposed  to  do  anything  in  the  hospital 
which  lii's-  orders  allowed  him  to  do.  he  could  do  it  without  con 
suiting  a  medical  officer. 

Q.  From  whom  did  he  get  that  authority0 

A.  Prom  Brigadier  General  John  IT.  Winder. 

Q.  What  was  General  Winder's  status  at  thai  time? 

A.   IT.-  was  not  there  at  that  time. 

Q.  Where  was  hel 

A.  I  do  m>t  know:  he  made  his  headquarters  at  Millen.  T  do 
not  recollect  where  he  was  then,  whether  at  Columbia,  Florence 

9  kvannah. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  of  the  prisoner's  putting  mon  of 
the  hospital  in  storks,  or-  exercising  his  command  over  attend- 
ants at  the  hospital  f 

A.  T  saw  one  instance,  and  T  am  fully  convinced  in  my  own 
mind  of  another. 

Q    r;iv<>  the  instance  you  saw. 

A.  That  was  the  '-a-'-  of  the  young  man  to  whom  T  have  jusl 
alluded,  the  chief  clerk  of  Dr.  James,  who  was  bucked.  He  was 
sitting  outside  the  gate  as  I  rode  up  to  the  hospital  one  morn- 
ing. T  inquired  the  '-ails.-,  and  was  told  that  Captain  AVirz  had 
ordered  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  tie-  reason  why  the  man  was  bucked! 
in 


242      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  I  om mission 

A.   I    knew    ii    Prom   thai   communication   winch    I    have  men- 
tioned. 

I ).  T.  ( ihandler,  con  federate,  Bays  : 

"I  was  in  the  service  of  the  Confederate  governmenl  from 
February,  1863,  until  the  dose  of  the  war.  I  held  the  appoinl 
infill  of  lieutenanl  colone]  in  the  adjutanl  general's  deparl  tnent, 
and  was  later  assigned  to  duly  as  inspector  general.  I  was  the 
officer  who  made  the  report  signed  *l).  T.  Chandler.'  I  have  no 
retraction  whatever  to  make  in  regard  to  the  condition  of  the 
prison  ;il  Andersonvile,  as  represented  in  my  report.  1  devoted 
aboul  a  week,  something  less  than  a  week,  to  an  inspection  of 
thai  place.  The  reporl  was  based  upon  the  information  con- 
veyed to  me  in  official  communications  Prom  Genera]  Winder 
and  the  officers  of  his  staff,  inspection  of  the  hook's  and  papers, 
the  records  of  the  different  offices  of  that  post,  and  actual  in- 
spection of  the  troops,  the  stockade  and  the  hospital.  I  will 
furl  her  state  that  T  had  some -conversation  with  the  prisoners 
in  the  stockade.  I  noticed  that  General  Winder  seemed  very 
indifferent  to  the  welfare  of  the  prisoners,  indisposed  to  do 
anything,  or  to  do  as  much  as  I  thought  he  ought  to  do  to 
alleviate  their  sufferings.  I  remonstrated  with  him  as  well  as 
I  could,  and  he  used  that  language  which  1  reported  to  the 
department  with  reference  to  it,  the  language  stated  in  that 
report. 

"When  I  spoke  of  the  ureal  mortality  existing  among  the 
prisoners,  and  pointed  out  to  him  that  the  sickly  season  was 
coming  on.  and  that  it  must  necessarily  increase  unless  some- 
thing was  done  for  their  relief, — the  swamp,  for  instance, 
drained,  proper  food  furnished  them  and  in  better  quantity,  and 
other  sanitary  suggestions  which  T  made  to  him, — he  replied  to 
me  that  he  thoughl  it  was  better  to  let  half  of  them  die  than  to 
take  care  of  them.  T  would  like  to  state  to  the  court  that  he 
fore  he  used  this  language  to  me.  my  assistant,  who  was  with 
me.  Major  Hall,  had  reported  to  me  that  he  had  used  similar 
language  to  him. — made  use  of  similar  expressions.  I  mention 
this  to  show  the  court  that  I  am  not  mistaken;  that  my  recol- 
lection i-  char.  .My  assistant,  Major  Hall,  had  reported  to  me 
officially  that  General  Winder  had  wsv^]  this  language  in  con- 
versation with  him.  I  told  him  I  thoughl  it  incredible-;  that  he 
iiniM   be  mistaken,      lie  told  me.  no;  thai   he  had  not   only  said 


Extracts  prom  the  Trial  op  Captain   Wib  243 

it  once  but  twice,  and,  as  I   have  stated,  he  subsequently  made 
■  t  his  expn  ssion  to  me. 

-i   PPLIES    POl   \i»    i\    GEORGIA    \ND    VLABAMA    I  \     L8C4     '65. 

By  ( leorge  Welling    Union 

I  have  l"'«'ii  in  the  military  service  of  the  United  States  for 
four  years  as  Lieutenant  colonel  of  the  Ith  Kentucky  cavalry. 
M \  regiment  was  ordered  to  Albany,  Georgia.  1  took  the  com- 
mand  of  the  post  about  the  firsl  of  May.  I  passed  very  often 
ui»  .uid  down  the  railroad  from  Albany  to  Macon;  1  stopped  at 
Andersonville  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  a1  a  time.  I  was  never 
at  the  stockade  I  was  with  General  Wilson's  command  from 
the  time  it  left  the  Tennessee  river  until  we  left  that  part  of 
the  country,  about  the  20th  of  last  August.  The  confederate 
commissaries  and  quartermasters  who  were  located  at  Albany 
turned  over  th<  stores  and  provisions  they  had  there.  There 
weir  thirty-one  thousand  pounds  of  bacon  turned  over  l>y  Cap- 
tain John  Davis,  confederate  commissary,  and  five  hundred 
bags  of  salt  ;  the  amount  nt'  corn  I  do  not  recollect.  There  was 
a  large  quantity  of  corn  and  bacon  in  the  country  through  which 
we  passed.  Parties,  after  we  went  there,  proposed  to  supply 
in  w:ih  any  quantities  needed  for  General  Wilson's  army. 
There  were  three  grain  mills  in  the  vicinity.  The  mill  at  Al- 
bany, which  was  built  by  the  confederate  government,  had  two 
fim  of  Btones.  A  mill  some  four  miles  from  there,  which  1  never 
visited,  had.  T  understood,  the  same  number.  That  mill  at 
Albany  was  capable  of  grinding  from  four  to  live  hundred 
bushels  of  corn  in  the  t  went  v-fotir  ROUTS.  This  mill,  turned 
over  to  us  by  the  confederate  government  at  Albany,  had  a  very 
!  1m >lt  iiiir  cloth  in  it  and  ground  \rvy  good  flour.  We  made 
very  good  flour  in  it  after  we  took  possession.  They  had  a 
bakery  there  with  four  ovens,  where  they  baked  hard  bread; 
some  of  that  hard  bread  I  saw,  and  ii  was  very  good." 

By  W.  T.  Davenport  (Confederate  . 

I  reside  in  Americus,  Sumter  county.  Georgia.  I  was  there 
during  the  rebellion.  from  April.  1864,  till  the  surrender  I  was 
tithe  agent  for  Sumter  county.  I  have  made  ;i  memoranda  of 
the  amount  of  Btores  and  provisions,  coming  into  my  hands  dur- 


_MI      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

ing  llic  year  L864.  I  can  make  a  statemenl  with  regard  to  it. 
I  made  t  h  is  memorandum  carefully  from  the  books  in  order  to 
refresh  my  memory  as  to  the  amounts  received  Prom  the  firsl  of 
April,  1864,  till  the  firsl  of  January,  1865,  and  from  the  firsl  of 
January,  1865,  till  the  surrender.  The  amounl  of  bacon  re- 
ceived al  thai  depot  from  Sumter  county  and  from  the  counties 
of  Schley,  Webster,  and  Marion  for  thie  year  1864  was  247,768 
pounds.  We  received  of  com  38,900  bushels;  of  wheat,  3,567 
bushels;  of  rice,  3,420  pounds,  (in  the  rough)  ;  of  peas,  we  re- 
ceived 817  bushels:  of  sirup  of  West  India  cane  and  sorghum 
(we  made  no  distinction),  3,700  gallons;  of  sugar,  1,166  pounds. 
From  the  first  of  January,  1865,  till  the  9th  of  April,  which 
was  the  time  of  surrender,  I  received  from  those  same  counties 
155,726  pounds  of  bacon  and  13,591  bushels  of  corn.  1  received 
only  86  bushels  of  wheat.  This  was  the  remnant  due  on  the 
old  crop,  the  new  crop  not  having  been  gathered.  Thar  was  the 
reason  the  amount  was  so  small.  We  collected  one-Tenth  of  the 
whole  crop.  There  was  a  depot  at  Andersonville.  Some  por- 
tions of  the  tithes  were  delivered  there,  and  others  were  deliv- 
ered to  traveling  companies  that  received  tithes  which  were  no1 
reported  to  me." 

WIRZ'S  STATEMENT  THAT  HE  HAD  SERVED  IN  THE  UNION  ARMY. 

By  diaries  H.  "Russell,   (Union). 

About  the  4th  of  June,  1864,  Captain  Wirz  came  into  the 
stockade  and  sa:d  that  Johnston  had  cleaned  out  Sherman  and 
taken  him  prisoner,  with  about  half  of  his  army.  He  was  feeling 
well  about  it.  I  tented  right  close  to  the  south  gate,  or  rather  I 
stayed  there  with  some  fellows  who  had  a  bough -house  up.  Cap- 
tain Wirz  came  in  there  and  sal  down,  and  got  to  talking  about 
his  being  in  our  army.  TTe  said  he  was  an  orderly  sergeant  in 
an  Illinois  regiment,  and  had  fought  under  Sigel  in  Arkansas 
There  is  one  of  our  men  alive,  by  the  name  of  Nelson  Chit- 
tenden, of  Wisconsin,  who  heard  the  same  statemenl.  T  do  not 
Know  whether  Captain  "Wirz  was  lying  or  not. 


Extracts  prom  the  Trial  of  Captain   Wirz 


LETTER  OP  CAPTAIN   \\  [RZ  TO  OENJ  RAL  J.   II.  WILSON. 

Andersonville,  Ga.,  May  7,   L865. 

General:  li  is  with  great  reluctance  thai  1  address  you  these 
lines,  being  in  1 1  \  aware  1 1 « »\\  Little  time  is  left  you  to  attend  to 
Buch  matters  as  I  now  have  the  honor  to  Lay  before  you.  IT  I 
could  see  an}  other  wa\  to  accomplish  my  object  1  would  not 
intrude  upon  you.  1  am  a  Dative  of  Switzerland,  and  was,  be- 
fore the  war,  a  citizen  of  Louisiana,  and  am  by  profession  a 
physician.  Lake  hundreds  and  thousands  of  others,  1  was  car- 
ried away  by  the  maelstrom  of  excitement  and  joined  the  south- 
ern army.  I  was  \er\  Beriously  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Seven 
Pines,  near  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  have  nearly  Lost  the  use  of 
my  right  arm.  i'niit  for  field  duty,  I  was  ordered  in  report  to 
Brevet  Major  General  John  II.  Winder,  in  charge  of  federal 
prisoners  of  war,  who  ordered  me  to  lake  harge  of  a  prison  in 
Tuscaloosa,  Alabama.  My  health  lading  me  there,  1  applied  for 
a  furlough  and  went  to  Europe,  whence  I  returned  in  February, 
t.  I  was  then  ordered  to  reporl  to  the  commandant  of  the 
military  prison  a1  Andersonville,  Georgia,  who  assigned  me  to 
the  command  of  the  interior  of  the  prison.  The  duties  l  bad  to 
perform  were  arduous  and  unpleasant,  and  I  am  satisfied  that 
no  man  can  or  will  justly  blame  me  for  things  that  happened 
there,  and  which  wer<  beyond  my  powder  to  control.  I  do  not 
think  that  l  ought  to  be  held  responsible  for  the  shortness  of 
rations,  for  the  overcrowded  state  of  tin-  prison,  which  was  of 
itself  a  prolific  source  of  fearful  mortality,  for  the  inadequate 
supplies  of  clothing,  want  of  shelter,  etc. 

Still,  l  now  bear  the  odium,  and  men  who  were  prisoners 
have  seemed  disposed  to  wreak  their  vengeance  upon  me  for 
what  they  have  Buffered;  1  was  only  the  medium,  or,  I 
may  better  eay,  the  tool  in  the  bands  of  my  superiors.  This  is 
my  condition.  1  am  a  man  with  a  family.  I  Lost  all  propert) 
when  the  federal  army  besieged  Vicksburg.  I  have  no  money 
at  present  to  go  to  any  place;  and,  even  it'  I  had,  1  know  of  no 
place  where  I  can  go.  My  Life  is  in  danger,  and  I  most  respi 
fully  ask  oi  you  hlelp  and  relief,     [f  you  will  be  so  generous  as 

five  me  Borne  sort  of  safe  conduct,  or,  what  I  should  greatly 
prefer,  a  guard  to  protect  myself  and  family  against  violence, 
I  shall  be  thankful  to  yon;  and  yon  may  rest  assured  that  your 


_'}•»      Report  of  AnpersonVille  Monument  Commission 

protection  will  n<>t  be  given  1<>  one  who  is  unworthy  of  it.     My 
intention  is  t<>  return  with  my  family  to  Europe,  as  soon  ;is  I 
ean    make    the    arrangements.     In    the    meantime,    I    have    the 
honor,  general,  to  remain  very  respectfully, 
Four  obedienl   servant, 

Ilv  Wmz,  Captain  C.  S.  A 

Major  ( General  J.  II.  Wilson, 

I'.  S.  A.  Commissary,  Macon,  Georgia. 


*  This  letter  showed  Wirz  to  l>e  a  sneaking  coward,  well  aware  <>i 
the  enormity  of  his  crime  and  fearing  the  wrath  of  his  victims.  Th'B 
authorities  were  compelled  to  disguise  him  in  order  to  enable  them 
to  get  him  to  Washington  for  the  trial.  What  he  said  of  his  being 
a  tool  in  the  hands  of  his  superiors  was  a  fact,  yet  he  was  selected 
because  of  ins  adaptation  and  willingness  to  carry  out  their  evil  de- 
signs.— D.  G.  J. 


KlNDINtiS   01     THE    (  '01   R  I 


CHAPTEK   XII 

FINDINGS  OF  THE  COURT. 

The  court,  being  cleared  for  deliberation,  and  having  ma- 
tuivly  considered  the  evidence  adduced,  find  the  accused, 
Benry   Wirz,  as  follows: 

Of  the  specification  to  charge  1,  "guilty,"  after  amending 
the  specification  to  read  as  follows: 

In  this,  thai  he,  the  said  Henry  Wirz,  did  combine,  confed- 
erate, ami  conspire  with  them,  the  said  Jefferson  Davis,  James 
\  Seddon,  Howell  Cobb,  John  II.  Winder,  Richard  B.  Winder, 
Isaiah  II.  White.  W.  s.  Winder,  w.  s.  Shelby  Reed,  R.  \l.  Stev- 
enson, S.  I*.  Moore,  Kerr,  late  hospital  steward  ai  Ander- 
Bonville,  dames  Duncan,  Wesley  W.  Turner,  Benjamin  Harris, 
and  others,  whose  names  are  unknown,  citizens  of  the  United 
States  aforesaid,  and  who  were  then  engaged  in  armed  rebel- 
lion againsl  the  United  States  aforesaid,  and.  in  violation  of  the 
laws  of  war.  to  impair  and  injure  the  health  and  to  destroy 
the  lives,  by  subjecting  to  torture  and  greal  suffering,  by  con- 
fining in  unhealthful  and  unwholesome  quarters,  by  exposing 
to  the  inclemency  of  winter  and  to  the  dews  and  burning  suns 
of  summer,  by  compelling  the  use  of  impure  water,  and  by 
furnishing  insufficient  and  unwholesome  food,  of  large  numbers 
of  federal  prisoners,  to-wit,  the  number  of  about  forty-five 
thousand  soldiers  in  the  military  service  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  held  as  prisoners  of  war  at  Andersonville,  in  the 
State  of  Georgia,  within  the  lines  of  the  so-called  Confederate 
States,  on  or  before  the  27th  day  of  March.  A.  I).  L864,  and  at 
divers  times  between  thai  day  and  the  I'Mh  day  of  April,  A.  L). 
L865,  to  the  end  thai  the  armies  of  the  United  States  mighl  be 
weakened  and  impaired,  and  the  insurgents  engaged  in  armed 
rebellion  againsl  the  United  States  mighl  be  aided  and  com- 
forted; and  he.  the  said  Henry  Wirz,  an  officer  in  the  military 
ice   of  ihe  BO-called   Confederate   States,    being   then    and 


248      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

there  commandant  oi'  a  military  prison  at  Andersonville,  in  the 
State  oi'  Georgia,  located  by  authority  of  the  so-called  Confed- 
erate States,  i'or  the  confinement  oi*  prisoners  of  war,  and,  as 
such  commandant,  fully  clothed  with  authority,  and  in  duty 
bound  to  treat,  care,  and  provide  i'or  such  prisoners,  held  as 
aforesaid,  as  were  or  might  be  placed  in  his  custody,  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  war,  did,  in  furtherance  of  such  combination, 
confederation,  and  conspiracy,  maliciously,  wickedly,  and 
traitorously  confine  a  large  number  of  prisoners  of  war,  sol- 
diers in  the  military  service  of  the  United  States,  to  the  num- 
ber of  about  forty-five  thousand  men,  in  unhealthful  and  un- 
wholesome quarters,  in  a  close  and  small  area  of  ground,  wholly 
inadequate  to  their  wants  and  destructive  to  their  health, 
which  he  well  knew  and  intended ;  and  while  there  so  confined, 
during  the  time  aforesaid,  did,  in  furtherance  of  his  evil  de- 
sign and  in  aid  of  the  said  conspiracy,  wilfully  and  maliciously 
neglect  to  furnish  tents,  barracks,  or  other  shelter,  sufficient  for 
their  protection  from  the  inclemency  of  winter  and  the  dews 
and  burning  sun  of  summer ;  and  with  such  evil  intent  did  take 
and  cause  to  be  taken  from  them  their  clothing,  blankets,  camp 
equipage  and  other  property  of  which  they  were  possessed  at 
the  time  of  being  placed  in  his  custody;  and  with  like  malice 
and  evil  intent  did  refuse  to  furnish  or  cause  to  be  furnished 
food  either  of  a  quality  or  quantity  sufficient  to  preserve  health 
and  sustain  life;  and  did  refuse  and  neglect  to  furnish  wood 
sufficient  for  cooking  in  summer  and  to  keep  the  said  prisoners 
warm  in  winter,  and  did  compel  the  said  prisoners  to  subsist 
upon  unwholesome  food,  and  that  in  limited  quantities,  entirely 
inadequate  to  sustain  health,  which  he  well  knew ;  and  did  com- 
pel the  said  prisoners  to  use  unwholesome  water,  reeking  with 
the  filth  and  garbage  of  the  prison  and  prison-guard,  and  the 
offal  and  drainage  of  the  cook-house  of  said  prison;  whereby 
the  prisoners  became  greatly  reduced  in  their  bodily  strength 
and  emaciated  and  injured  in  their  bodily  health ;  their  minds 
impaired  and  their  intellects  broken;  and  many  of  them,  to-wit, 
about  the  number  of  ten  thousand,  whose  names  are  unknown, 
sickened  and  died  by  reason  thereof,  which  he,  the  said  Henry 
Wirz,  then  and  there  well  knew  and  intended;  and  so  knowing 
and  evily  intending,  did  refuse  and  neglect  to  provide  proper 
lodgings,  food,  or  nourishment  for  the  sick,  and  necessary  medi- 
cine and  medical  attendance  for  the  restoration  of  their  health, 


Findings  of  the  ( !oi  r  <  249 

and  did  knowingly,  wilfully  and  maliciously,  in  furtherance 
of  his  evil  designs,  permit  them  to  Languish  and  die  from  want 
of  care  and  proper  treatment;  and  the  said  Henry  Wirz,  still 
pursuing  his  evil  purposes,  did  permit  to  remain  in  the  said 
prison,  among  the  emaciated  sick  and  Languishing  living,  the 
bodies  o\'  the  dead,  until  they  became  corrupt  and  loathsome, 
and  filled  the  air  with  noxious  and  Fetid  exhalations,  and 
thereby  greatly  increased  the  unwholesomeness  of  the  prison, 
Insomuch  that  .ureal  numbers  of  said  prisoners,  whose  names 
are  unknown,  sickened  and  died  by  reason  thereof.  And  1 1n- 
said  Henry  Wirz,  still  pursuing  his  wicked  and  cruel  purpose 
wholly  disregarding  the  usuages  of  civilized  warfare,  did  at 
the  time  and  place  aforesaid  maliciously  and  wilfully  subject 
the  prisoners  aforesaid  to  cruel,  unusual  and  infamous  punish- 
ment, upon  slight,  trivial  and  fictitious  pretences,  by  fastening 
Large  halls  of  iron  to  their  feet,  and  binding  numbers  of  the 
prisoners  aforesaid  closely  together  with  Large  chains  around 
their  necks  and  feet,  so  that  they  walked  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  :  and  being  so  confined,  were  subjected  to  the  burning 
rays  of  the  sun.  often  without  food  or  drink,  for  hours  and  even 
•  lays,  from  which  said  cruel  treatment  numbers  whose  names 
are  unknown  sickened,  fainted,  and  died;  and  he,  the  said 
Wirz,  did  further  cruelly  treat  and  injure  said  prisoners  by 
maliciously  tying  them  up  by  the  thumbs,  and  wilfully  con- 
lining  them  within  an  instrument  of  torture  called  the  stocks, 
thus  depriving  them  of  the  use  of  t  heir  limbs,  and  forcing  them 
to  lie.  sit  and  stand  for  many  hours  without  the  power  of 
changing  position,  and  being  withoul  food  or  drink,  in  con- 
sequence  of  which  many,  whose  names  are  unknown,  sickened 
and  died  ;  and  he,  t  he  said  Wirz,  si  ill  wickedly  pursuing  his  evil 
purpose,  did  establish  and  cause  to  be  designated,  within  the 
prison  enclosure  containing  said  prisoners,  a  "dead-line,"  be- 
ing a  line  around  the  inner  face  of  the  sloekade  or  wall,  en- 
closing said  prison,  and  aboul  25  feet  distant  from  and  within 
Baid  stockade;  and  having  so  established  said  dead-line,  which 
was  in  some  plaees  an  imaginary  line,  and  in  other  places 
marked  by  insecure  and  shifting  strips  of  boards,  nailed  upon 

the  toj)  of  small  and  insecure  stakes  or  posts,  he,  the  said   Wirz. 

instructed  the  prison  guard  stationed  around  the  top  of  said 

:kade  to  fire  upon  and  kill  any  of  the  prisoners  aforesaid 

who  mi glit  fall  upon.  p;i^s  over  or  under  or  across  the  said  dead 


250      Report  of  AndersonvjiaiE  Monument  Commission 

line;  pursuanl  to  which  said  orders  and  instructions,  mali- 
ciously and  aeedlessly  given  by  said  Wirz,  still  pursuing  his 
evil  purpose,  did  keep  and  use  ferocious  and  blood-thirsty  dogs, 
dangerous  to  human  life,  to  limit  down  prisoners  of  war  afore- 
said who  made  their  escape  Prom  his  custody:  and  did,  thru 
and  there,  wilfully  and  maliciously  suffer,  incite  and  encourage 
the  said  dogs  to  sieze,  tear,  mangle,  and  maim  the  bodies  and 
limbs  of  said  fugitive  prisoners  of  war,  which  the  said  dogs, 
Incited  as  aforesaid,  then  and  there  did,  whereby  a  number  of 
said  prisoners  of  war.  who,  during  the  time  aforesaid,  made 
their  escape  and  were  recaptured,  died;  and  the  said  Wirz, 
still  pursuing  his  wicked  purpose,  and  still  aiding  in  carrying 
out  said  conspiracy,  did  cause  to  be  used  for  the  pretended 
purposes  of  vaccination  impure  and  poisonous  vaccine  matter, 
which  said  poisonous  matter  was  then  and  there,  by  the  di- 
rection and  order  of  said  Wirz,  maliciously,  cruelly,  and 
wickedly  deposited  in  the  arms  of  many  of  said  prisoners,  by 
reason  of  which  large  numbers  of  them  lost  the  use  of  their 
arms,  and  many  of  them  were  so  injured  that  they  soon  there- 
after died  ;  all  if  which  he,  the  said  Eenry  Wirz  well  knew  and 
maliciously  Intended,  and,  in  aid  of  the  then  existing  rebellion 
against  the  United  States,  with  the  view  to  assist  in  weakening 
and  impairing  the  armies  of  the  United  States;  and,  in  fur- 
therance of  the  said  conspiracy,  and  with  the  full  knowledge, 
consent,  and  connivance  of  his  co-conspirators  aforesaid,  he, 
the  said  Wirz,  then  and  there  did. 

Of  charge  1,  "guilty,"  after  amending  said  charge  to  read  as 

follows  : 

.Maliciously,  wilfully  and  traitorously,  and  in  aid  of  the  then 
existing  armed  rebellion  againsl  the  United  States  of  America, 
on  or  before  the  27th  day  of  March,  A.  I).  1864,  and  on  divers 
other  days  between  thai  day  and  the  tenth  day  of  April,  1865, 
combining,  confederating  and  conspiring;  together  with  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  -lames  A.  Seddon,  Howell  Cobb,  .John  I!.  Winder, 
Richard  B.  Winder,  Isaiah  II.  While,  W.  S.  Winder,  W.  Selby 
Reed,  R.  R.  Stevenson,  S.  P.  Moore.  —  Kerr,  late  hospital 
Steward  a1  Andersonville,  dames  Duncan.  Wesley  W.  Turner. 
Benjamin  Harris  and  others  unknown,  to  injure  the  health  and 
destroy  t  he  lives  of  soldiers  in  the  military  service  of  the  United 
States,  then  held  and  being  prisoners  of  war  within  the  lines  of 
the   so-called    Confederate   States   and    in    the    military    prisons 


Bindings  <>r  rm.  ( !oi  R  r  _'.  I 

thereof,  to  the  « -i n  1  thai  the  armies  of  the  United  States  tnighl 
be  weakened  and  impaired;  in  violation  of  the  laws  and  cus- 
toms of  war. 

<  >i'  i  he  Becond  charge,  * '  guilty . ' 

Ami  the  comi  do  therefore  sentence  him,  the  said  Henry 
Wirz,  to  1"'  hanged  by  the  neck  till  dead,  al  Buch  time  and 
place  as  the  President  of  the  United  States  may  direct,  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  <>!'  the  courl  concurring  herein. 

u-:\v  walTjAce, 

Major  ( r  en  era]  and   Presidenl  ( !om. 
V    I  .  Chipman, 

Colonel  and  Aid  A.  I>.  ('..  Judge  Advocate. 
The    proceedings,    findings    and    sentence    in    the    foregoing 
se,  having  been  submitted  to   the    PresMenl    of  the   United 
States,  the  following  are  Ins  ord<    - 

Executive  Mansion.  November  3,  1865. 
The  proceedings,  findings,  and  sentence  of  the  courl  in  the 
within  case  are  approved,  and  it  is  ordered  that  the  sentence 
be  carried  into  execution,  by  the  officer  commanding  tin-  de- 
partment of  Washington,  on  Friday,  the  KMh  day  of  Novem- 
ber, 1865,  between  the  hours  of  6  o'clock  A.  M.  and  12  o'clock 
Qoon. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

Iv\l ■'<  QTION  of  Senteni 

President. 
Headquarters    Department    of    Washington, 
Washington,  I).  C,  November  11,  18 
Sir:     I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  the  sentence  and  orders 
the  President  in  the  case  of  Henry  Wirz,  as  promulgated  in 
General  Court-martial  orders  No.  607,  dated  War  Department, 
Adjutant    General's    Office,    Washington,    November    <».    1865, 
have  been  duly  executed  (between  the  hones  of  1«>  and  11   A. 
M.    yesterday,  November  1<>.  and  his  body  has  been  interred  by 
.  tzerodt,  in  t  he  arsenal  grounds. 
r  am,  general,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

I     <     AUGUR, 
Major  Genera]  Volunteers,  Commanding  Department. 
The  Adjutant  General  of  the  Army. 


*  I  have  been  Informed  by  three  members  of  the  courl   thai   this 
on  and  sentence  was  unanimous  on  the  first  ballot.      D.  <;.  J. 


252      Report  of  Andersonville  Moni  ment  Commission 


CHAPQ  ER  XIII. 
CONCERNING  GENERAL  LEE  AND  JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 

Conduct    op    Robert    K.    Lee,    Concerning    Exchange    op 

I  'RISONERS. 

It  is  very  clear  from  an  examination  oi'  the  report  oi"  General 

Canity  that  the  irregularities  in  exchange  and  the  violation  of 
the  cartel  on  the  part  of  the  confederates  were  not  confined  to 
the  rebel  authorities  in  and  about  Richmond,  but  reached  the 
highest  officer  oi'  the  confederate  army  in  the  held.  It  appears 
that  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of 
the  cartel,  and  after  General  Meade  had  declined  to  enter  upon 
the  question  of  exchange,  paroled  and  dismissed  the  prisoners 
captured  by  him  in  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  in  1863.  By 
the  terms  of  the  cartel  he  was  bound  to  deliver  them  at  City 
Point,  but,  in  order  to  disembarrass  himself  of  their  presence 
in  the  field,  and  to  avoid  guarding  and  feeding  them  when  his 
army  was  hard  pressed  and  retreating  before  General  Meade, 
he  was  guilty  of  the  unmilitary  conduct  of  authorizing  paroles 
which  he  knew  were  utterly  null  and  void,  and  in  violation  of 
the  terms  of  the  convention;  thus  permitting  himself  to  be 
justly  placed  in  the  dishonorable  category  with  the  civil 
agents  of  the  confederate  government  who  were  so  frequently 
guilty  of  the  same  offense.  Mr.  Quid  afterward  insisted,  with 
his  usual  fairness,  that  these  illegal  paroles  should  be  respected 
by  us,  or  that  we  should  redeliver  the  persons  thus  paroled  by 
General  Lee  to  their  authority  at  City  Point.  Such  were  the 
pretenses,  false  in  character  and  cruel  in  the  use  to  which  they 
were  put,  which  interrupt ed  the  course  of  exchange  and  kept 
our  soldiers  in  tin;  charnel-houses  of  the  confederacy. 

In  summing  up  this  recital  of  facts  as  fully  attested,  we  may 
truly  assert  that  General  Lee,  having  deserted  his  government 
in  time  of  need,  having  used  his  influence  to  get  his  neighbors 
to  renounce  their  loyalty  to  their  country,  which  was  a  prime 
factor  in  taking  the  state  of  Virginia  out  of  the  Tnion,  ana 
virtually  having  approved  the  treatmenl  accorded  to  the  vic- 
tims he  had  made  captive,  by  not  protesting,  or,  as  commander- 
in-chief,  stopping  it  by  an  order  to  his  subordinates,  he  cer- 
tainly ought  not  to  have  had  his  property  preserved,  in  which 
to  bury  lie'  victims  of  his  treachery,  and  be  paid  a  fabulous 
sum  for  that  estate  ;M  Arlington  to  be  used  as  a  national  ceme- 
tery by  the  government  he  had  tried  to  destroy. 


i  i;\    \.     <    i  NERAL   III     \\i>  JEFFERSON    DAVIS  253 

Jeff  Davis  came  into  notoriety  when  he  ran  away  wit  1 1  the 
daughter  of  his  commander,  General  Taylor,  departing  during 
the  early  hours  long  before  the  dawn  of  day.  lie  was  noted 
-  .i  quarrelsome  bigot,  in  more  quarrels  and  fewer  lights  than 
any  other  officer  in  the  army,  always  getting  his  father-in-law, 
Genera]  Taylor,  to  patch  up  the  matter.  In  the  .Mexican  war  he 
w;is  Hi.-  colonel  of  a  Mississippi  regiment,  yd  never  dis- 
tinguished himself  until  the  31s1  Congress,  when  lie  made  a 
speech  portraying  his  prowess  and  thai  of  his  regimenl  ;it  the 
Battle  of  Buena  Vista,  in  which  he  claimed  that  an  Illinois 
regimenl  abandoned  the  field  and  thai  he.  nt  the  head  of  his 
regiment,  advanced  into  the  gap,  repulsing  the  victorious 
Mexicans  and  driving  them  from  the  field.  Colonel  Bissell, 
who  commanded  the  only  Illinois  regimenl  in  thai  battle,  de- 
nounced the  statement  on  the  floor,  calling  Davis  a  liar  and 
coward,  saying  that  Davis's  regimenl  was  not  within  a  mile 
of  his  command  at  any  time  during  the  battle,  and,  further, 
that  his  regimenl  never  lost  any  ground  to  the  enemy  which 
they  did  nut  recover  and  hold.  Whereupon  Davis,  with  his 
usual  bluster,  challenged  Bissel  to  fight  a  duel.  The  challenge 
was  promptely  accepted,  lossel  choosing  the  musket  loaded 
with  one  ball  and  three  buck  shot,  distance  twenty  paces;  re- 
sult: Mr.  I);i\is's  friends  (father-in-law  included)  interceded 
and  settled  the  matter  satisfactorily  to  ~Nv.  Davis,  Colonel 
r.ivs.dl  in  the  meantime,  making  no  retraction. 

The  nexl  time  l);i\is  became  notable  was  when  in  Congress 
hi'  was  conniving  with  Vice-President  Breckenridge,  Robert 
Toombs,  Secretary  of  War  Floyd,  Howell  Cobb  and  numerous 
ntln-rs  who  were  in  control  of  the  different  departments  of  the 
governmenl  and  concocting  plans  ^y  which  to  pul  the  navy 
ar  away  thai  it  could  not  he  reached  for  months:  to  re- 
move all  th«-  arms  and  munitions  of  war  from  the  northern 
arsenals  to  the  smith,  drawing  his  salary  ,-it  the  same  time  from 
our  government,  keeping  it  up  until  the  several  states  had  gone 
through  tie-  formality  of  seceding:  when  he  took  the  floor  in 
the  senate  chamber,  and,  in  his  lordly  way,  bade  the  loyal 
members  ;i  bombastic  adieu  and  strutted  out  to  commence  his 
intri<_rim  to  become  the  president  of  the  so-called  Confederate 
States  of  America,  which  he  sua ded  in  doing. 

T  will  now  quote  the  southern  historian,  Edward  A.  Pollard, 
in  his  life  of  Jefferson  Davis,  with  ;i  secrel  history  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  ;t^  gathered  behind  the  scenes  in  Rich- 
mond. 


254       Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

"A1  !li«-  Battle  of  Bull  Run,  after  the  battle  was  over  excepl 
a  Pew  scattering  shots  from  the  artillery,  Mr.  Davis  arrived  a1 
the  station,  procured  a  horse  and  started  for  the  front,  after 
the  Union  army  had  become  panic  stricken;  ye1  il  answered 
his  purpose  in  making  a  display.  He  rode  from  the  cars 
towards  the  sublime  scene.  Ai  thai  moment  his  brother,  Joe, 
admonished  him  no1  to  go  any  further.  'Oh,'  he  said,  "it 
is  my  duty  to  be  with  my  brave  men.* 

Another  occasion  was  yet  more  dramatic.  The  president 
and  Mrs.  Davis  were  returning  from  some  festivity  on  a  flag 
of  truce  boat  that  had  come  up  the  dames  river.  They  were 
walking  along  the  street  in  the  night,  unattended  by  his  staff, 
and  with  no  indication  of  his  importance.  They  had  to  pass 
the  front  of  Libby  Prison,  where  a  sentinel  paced,  and,  accord- 
ing to  his  orders,  was  forcing  passengers  from  the  walk  to  the 
middle  of  the  street.  As  Mr.  Davis  approached,  the  guard  or- 
dered him  off  the  pavement.  "I  am  the  president,"  replied  Mr. 
Davis,  "'allow  us  to  pass."  "None  of  your  gammons,"  replied 
the  soldier  bringing  his  musket  to  his  shoulder,  "if  you  don't 
gel  into  the  street  I'll  blow  the  top  of  your  head  off."  "But 
I  am  Jefferson  Davis,  man;  T  am  your  president.  No  more  of 
your  insolence!"  and  the  president  pressed  forward.  Il<-  was 
rudely  thrust  back,  and,  in  a  moment  had  drawn  a  sword  dag- 
ger concealed  in  his  cane,  and  was  about  to  rush  upon  the  in- 
solent sentinel,  when  Mrs.  Davis  flung  herself  between  the 
combatants,  and,  by  her  screams,  aroused  the  officer  of  the 
guard,  who  allowed  Mr.  Davis  to  go  home.  But  instead  of  the 
traditional  reward  to  the  faithful  sentry,  the  order  came  the 
oexl  day  to  Libby  to  degrade  the  faithful  soldier  and  put  him 
on  a  bread-and-water  diet  for  his  unwitting  insult  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  confederate  army,  who  had  caused  the 
orders  to   be   issued. 

The  lirst  year  of  the  war.  Mi1.  Davis  was  actually  the  legis- 
lator of  the  confederacy,  and  laws  framed  in  the  executive 
office  were  regularly  sent  into  the  dingy  room  in  which  Con- 
gress sat  in  secret  session.  Mr.  Davis  had  a  conceited  idea 
that,  because  he  was  born  under  the  planet  Mars,  he  was  amply 
qualified  to  legislate  on  military  affairs.  He  organized  a  police 
force  with  two  hundred  spies  taken  from  the  slums  of  Balti- 
more and  pul  at  the  head  of  this  wretched  police  business, 
whirli  was  continued  through  his  administration, 


i  'ON(  '  ;;\  :\«.  <  rl  \l  .'  VI     LEj     VNP  JeFI  i.i:-»\    D.VVIS 

A  fitter  exponent  of  despotism  and  cruelty  could  not  be 
found  within  the  limits  of  the  South  than  was  Pound  in  General 
Winder  of  Maryland,  ;i  name  that  thousands  of  living  persons 
recall  with  horror.  He  caused  respectable  men  and  women  to 
be  arrested  for  uttering  sentiments  derogatory  to  his  govern 
ment,  dragged  them  to  brothels  and  saloons  where  his  court 
was  held  and  had  them  confined  in  places  too  filthy  for  any 
person  to  be  placed.  In  L863,  after  the  reverses  of  Gettysburg 
and  Vicksburg,  he  ordered  the  limits  of  conscription  extended 
from  18  to  55  years,  so  as  to  include  all  under  the  age  of  fifty- 
five,  including  those  who  had  previously  been  drafted  and  h;nl 
hired  substitutes;  and  this  without  refunding  the  money  paid. 
The  confederacy  was  converted  into  a  vasl  camp,  and  the  coun- 
try of  Jeff  Davis  came  to  be  one  of  the  most  thoroughly  military 
despotisms  of  the  age. 

One  man  in  the  confederate  Congress  was  bold  enough  to 
declare  thai  impressmenl  and  other  acts  of  misrule  and  op- 
pression in  the  administration  of  Mr.  Davis  had  extracted  all 
virtue  from  the  cause.  Tn  speaking  of  the  scarcity  of  food. 
he  refers  to  a  Large  volume  of  complaints  againsl  Mr.  Davis 
for  the  maltreatment  of  northern  prisoners,  and  makes  allu- 
sions to  the  facts  quoted  in  previous  chapters.  He  further  says 
that  the  president  »>f  the  southern  confederacy  is  to  be  blamed 
for  continuing  in  its  employment  such  agents  as  Winder  and 
Northrup,  each  a  favorite  creature,  the  latter  extravagantly  so, 
and  both  of  them  repeatedly  brought  to  Ids  attention  as  in- 
COmpetenl    and  scandalous  officers. 

To  show  Mr.  Davis  in  his  true  autocratic  bearing  spiritually, 
he  worshiped  at  St.  Paul's  Church.  One  Sunday  he  sat  stiff 
and  alone  in  tin-  president's  pew,  where  no  one  outside  Ids 
family  had  ever  dared  intrude  since  Mi-.  Davis  had  ordered 
the  sexton  to  remove  two  ladies  who  had  ventured  there,  ami 
who,  <>n  turning  their  faces  to  the  admonition  to  leave,  de- 
livered before  the  whole  congregation,  had  proved,  to  the  dis- 
may and  well  deserved  mortification  of  the  president's  wife,  to 
be  the  daughters  of  < General  L< 

In  th<-  early  pari  of  the  w;ir.  Mr.  Davis,  while  addressing  a 
South  Carolina  regiment,  had  turned  his  back  to  the  men  in 
his  lofty  way  as  ;i  heroic  leader  and  said,  ""I  will  he  with  you 
my  brave  men  to  lead  when  the  last  charge  is  made  for  the  final 
rout    of  the   foe."      And    now  see   how   he  did    it.      lie  s;it    in    his 

pew  on  thai  quiet  Sunday  morning,  when  a  messenger  walked 


256      Keport  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

noisily  into  the  church  and  handed  the  presidenl  a  slip  of 
paper.  He  read  the  paper,  rose  and  walked  out  of  the  church 
without  agitation,  but  with  his  Pace  and  manner  evidently 
constrained.  An  uneasy  whisper  par  through  the  crowd  of 
worshipers,  and  many  hastened  into  the  street.  There  it  was 
rumored  that  Richmond  was  to  be  evacuated.  A  little;  past 
noon  some  of  Longstreet's  men  were  marching  through  Rich- 
mond to  reinforce  General  Lee.  The  soldiers  moved  with  a 
slouching  step  and  once  on  their  disordered  march,  it  :s  said, 
groans  were  called  for  Jeff  Davis.  Formerly  they  were  ac- 
customed to  march  through  the  city  with  colors  unfurled  and 
bands  playing.  And  where  was  Presidenl  Davis?  As  he  had 
received  the  news  of  Lee's  defeat,  he  had  slunk  from  his  pew; 
and  when  the  great  final  scene  of  the  drama  had  been  staged, 
the  principal  actor  was  conspicuously  absent,  lie,  the  leader, 
the  hero,  had  not  shown  his  face,  but  was  preparing  a  private 
sumptuous  baggage  to  flee  from  Richmond,  a  low,  unnoticed 
fugitive  nnder  cover  of  the  night.  He  stepped  unobserved 
upon  the  train  that  was  to  carry  him  from  Richmond.  lie  did 
not  forget  the  gold  in  the  treasury,  which  had  been  reserved 
to  give  the  discontented  soldiers  as  largess.  Mr.  Davis  insisted 
upon  reserving  it  for  exigencies,  and  it  was  now  secure  in  his 
baggage.  He  did  forget  his  sword,  a  costly  present  from 
some  of  his  admirers  in  England,  and  which  was  destroyed 
by  the  fire  he  ordered  set  to  devour  the  city  that  had  given  him 
succor  for  the  past  fonr  years. 

Next  we  find  him  in  Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  secluded  in 
a  box  car,  unknown  to  any  excepting  Generals  Johnston  and 
Beauregard,  both  of  whom  he  had  formerly  disgraced  by  re- 
leasing them  of  any  command,  and  begging  them  to  continue 
Hie  fight  after  Lee  had  surrendered.  He  was  quite  willing  to 
sacrifice  every  man  in  the  confederacy,  except  himself,  in  the 
hopeless  cause.  But  Johnston  and  Beauregard  informed  him 
that  their  men  were  deserting  in  large  numbers,  refusing  to  be 
shot  down  with  no  show  of  success.  Mr.  Davis,  in  his  effort 
to  make  his  escape  sure,  had  separated  from  his  wife,  sending 
her  on  to  Washington,  Georgia,  where  he  was  to  join  her. 
It  was  determined  that  on  continuing  their  journey  they  would 
travel  as  an  emigrant  party  in  a  covered  wagon,  with  a  pack 
mule  covered  with  cooking  utensils.  All  tokens  of  the  presi- 
dent's importance  were  laid  aside.  It  was  designed  that  Mr. 
D;i\  is,  with  his  wife  and  his  wife's  sister,  should  pass  as  a  Simple 
country  family  who  had  fallen  in  with  straggling  soldiers  for 


( \>\<  i  r!         i      tbri     I .,  '    lnd  Jefferson  D  25*3 

their  protection.  All  went  well  for  three  days,  when  a  Bquad 
ron  "f  Union  cavalry  took  his  trail  and  closed  in  on  him  early 
one  morning.  ll<-  then  attempted  to  make  liis  escape  by 
donning  his  wife's  waterproof,  and,  with  a  shawl  over  his  bead 
and  a  bucket  in  band,  sallied  forth  with  his  wife,  who  accosted 
the  Yankee  cavalryman,  asking  thai   he  allow  her  mother  to 

pass  mit    for  B    bucket    of  water.     This  fuse  didn't    work.      The 

Boldier,  noticing  the  coarse  boots  of  the  farmer,  raised  the 
outer  garment  with  the  point  of  the  saber.  This  gave  the 
Bcheme  away,  and  so  the  proud  President  of  the  Confederacy 
was  promptly  put  under  arrest.  What  a  falling  down! 
Wouldn't  the  South  Carolina  regiment  have  been  proud  to 
follow    their  hero  clad   in   female  attire  1 

Concerning  a  Pension  for  Jefferson  Davis. 

I  will  now  give  the  reader  a  short  sentence  from  Senator 
Zack  Chandler's  speech,  March  3,  1879,  in  the  CJ.  S.  senate,  upon 
the  hill  to  pension  all  survivors  of  the  Mexican  War,  to  which 
Senator  Hoar  offered  the  following  amendment  : 

"Provided,  further,  that  no  pension  shall  ever  be  paid  under 
this  act  to  Jefferson  Davis,  the  late  president  of  the  so-called 
confederacy."     This  provoked  a  spirited  discussion  in  which 

Mr1,  ('handler  addressed  the  presiding  officer  as   follows: 

"Twenty-two  years  ago  tomorrow,  in  the  old  hall  of  the  sen- 
ate, now  occupied  by  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 
I  in  company  with  Jefferson  Davis,  stood  up  and  swore  before 
Almighty  God  that  1  would  support  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States.  Mr.  Davis  came  from  the  cabinet  of  Franklin 
Pierce  into  the  senate  of  the  United  States  and  took  tin1  oath 
with  me  to  1).-  faithful  to  this  government.  During  four  years 
I  sat  in  this  body  with  Mi-.  Jefferson  Davis  and  1  saw  the 
preparations  going  on  from  day  to  day  for  the  overthrow  of 
this  government.  With  treason  in  his  heart  and  perjury  upon 
his  lips  he  took  the  oath  to  sustain  a  government  that  lie  meant 
to  overt hrow. 

Space  forbids  going  any  further  along  these  lines.  Tt  is  a 
matter  of  history  well  known  on  both  sides,  as  stated  by  Pol- 
lard, the  southern  historian,  that  Davis  was  vain,  bigoted  and 
unreliable,  and  so  quarrelsome  that  he  could  not  get  along  with 
his  cabinet.  We  on  our  side  know  he  was  a  double-dyed 
traitor,  as  stated  by  Mi-.  Chandler,  ami  a  fiend  incarnate.  Ele 
w;is  directly  the  cause  of  the  death,  in  the  most  loathsome  man- 
ner imaginable,  of  tens  of  thousands  of  brave,  loyal  men, 
17 


Report  of  Andersonville  Moni  ment  Commission 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

REPORT  BY  CLARA  BARTON. 

On  Condition  op  Andersonville  in  1865. 

It  is  doubt  Till  if  ;i  more  graphic  description  -more  sympa- 
thetic in  spirit,  more  beautiful  in  language— has  ever  been 
given  of  Andersonville  than  thai  which  Clara  Barton  has  writ- 
ten. The  matter  of  which  this  book  treats  could  hardly  be 
complete  without  Miss.  Barton's  story,  and  so  it  is  put  here 
where  all  may  read.it. 

She  visited  the  place  in  the  summer  of  1865. 
To  the  People  of  the  United  States  of  America: 

Having  by  official  imitation  been  placed  upon  an  expedition 
to  Andersonville  Por  the  purpose  of  identifying  and  marking 
the  graves  of  the  dead  contained  in  those  noted  prison  grounds, 
it  is  perhaps  not  improper  that  I  make  some  report  of  the  cir- 
cumstances which  induced  the  sending  of  such  an  expedition, 
ils  work,  and  the  appearance,  condition  and  surroundings  of 
that  interesting  spot,  hallowed  alike  by  the  sufferings  of  the 
martyred  dead  and  the  tears  and  prayers  of  those  who  mourn 
for  1  hem. 

During  a  search  Por  the  missing  men  of  the  United  States 
army,  begun  in  March,  1865,  under  the  sanction  of  the  late  la- 
mented Presidenl  Lincoln,  I  formed  the  acqua:ntance  of  Dor- 
mice Atwater,  of  Connecticut,  a  member  of  the  2d  New  York 
Cavalry,  who  had  been  a  prisoner  al  Belle  Isle  and  Anderson- 
ville twenty-two  months,  and  charged  by  the  rebel  authorities 
with  the  duty  of  keeping  the  Death  Register  of  the  Union  pris- 
oners who  died  amid  the  nameless  cruelties  of  the  last  named 
prison. 

By  minute  inquiry  I  learned  from  Mr.  Atwater  the  method 
adopted  in  the  burial  of  the  dead,  and  by  carefully  comparing 
this  account  with  a  drafl  which  he  had  made  of  the  grounds 
appropriated  for  this  purpose  by  the  prison  authorities,  1  be- 
came convinced   of   the   possibility   of   identifying   the   p-raves 


REPORT    \:\    (   l    IR  \    I »  \IM"\ 

simply  by  comparing  the  numbered  post  or  board  marking  each 
man's  position  in  the  trench  in  which  he  was  buried  with  the 
corresponding  number  standing  againsl  his  name  upon  the  reg 
ister  kepi  by  Mr.  Atwater,  which  he  informed  me  waa  then  in 

ssession  of  i  he  War  I  depart  ment. 

Assured  by  the  intelligence  and  frankness  <>f  my  informant 
of  the  entire  truthfulness  of  liis  statements,  I  desired  to  impart 
to  the  officers  <>f  the  governmenl  the  information  I  had  gained, 
and  accordingly  brough.1  the  subjecl  to  the  attention  of  General 
Hoffman,  commissary-general  of  prisoners,  asking  thai  a  party 
or  expedition  be  at  once  senl  to  Andersonville  for  the  purpose 
of  identifying  and  marking  the  graves,  and  inclosing  the 
grounds;  and  thai  Dorence  Atwater.  with  his  register,  accom- 
pany the  same  as  the  proper  person  to  designate  and  identity. 
The  subjecl  appeared  to  have  been  not  only  unheard  of,  lmt 
unthoughl  of,  and  from  the  generally  prevailing  impression 
that  no  care  had  been  taken  in  the  burial  of  our  prisoners  the 
idea  seemed  at  firsl  difficull  to  be  entertained.  Hut  the  same 
facts  which  had  served  to  convince  me  presented  themselves 
favorably  to  the  good  understanding  and  kind  heart  of  General 
Hoffman,  who  took  immediate  steps  to  lay  the  matter  before 
the  Honorable  Secretary  of  War,  upon  whom,  at  his  request, 
I  called  the  following  day.  and  learned  from  him  that  he  had 
heard  and  approved  my  proposition,  and  decided  to  order  an 
expedition,  consisting  of  materials  and  men.  under  charge  of 
some  governmenl  officer,  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  obji 
sel  forth  in  my  request,  and  invited  me  to  accompany  the  expe- 
dition in  person,  which  invitation  I  accepted. 

Accordingly,  <>n  the  sth  of  -July  the  propeller  Virginia,  hav- 
ing on  board  fencing  material,  headboards,  the  prison  records, 
forty  workmen,  clerks  and  letterers,  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain .lam.'s  M.  Moore,  A.  Q.  .M..  Dormice  Atwater  and  myself, 
left  Washington  for  Andersonville  via  Savannah.  We  resumed 
our  journey  by  way  of  Augusta,  Atlanta  and  Macon,  the  en- 
tire party  reaching  its  destination  in  safety  aboul  noon  of  the 
25th  of  July. 

We  found  the  prison  grounds,  stockade,  hospital  sheds  and 
the  various  minor  structures  almost  in  the  same  condition  in 
which  they  had  been  evacuated  ;  and  care  is  taken  to  leave  these 
historic  monuments  undisturbed,  so  long  as  the  elements  will 
Bpare  them, 


260      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

TIktc  is  Qotj  ;iikI  never  was,  any  town  or  village  al  this  place 
except  whal  grew  mil  of  its  military  occupation.  Anderson 
Station,  on  the  railroad  from  Macon  to  Eufala,  was  selected 
as  a  depot  for  prisoners,  probably  on  accounl  of  its  remoteness 
and  possible  security,  and  the  prison  itself,  with  the  buildings 
which  sprang  up  around  it,  constituted  all  there  was  of  Ander- 
sonville. 

The  land  around  is  broken  and  undulating,  and  at  the  time 
of  ils  occupation  was  covered  with  forests,  mostly  of  the  Long 
leafed  pine  common  to  the  uplands  of  the  South.  The  bases 
of  the  hills  are  lined  with  oozy  springs,  which  unite  to  form 
little  rivulets,  one  of  which  sluggishly  winds  through  each  of 
the  intervening  marshy  valleys. 

The  original  inclosure  of  nineteen  acres  was  made  in  the 
unbroken  woods,  and  the  timber  was  removed  only  as  it  was 
wanted  for  the  necessities  of  the  prison.  The  inclosure  was 
begun  in  January,  1834,  and  enlarged  during  the  summer  to 
25%  acres,  being  a  quadrangle  of  1,295  by  865  feet.  The  great- 
est length  is  from  north  to  south,  the  ground  rising  from  the 
middle  toward  each  end  in  a  rather  steep,  rounded  hill,  the 
northern  one  being  at  once  Hie  highest  and  of  the  greatesl  ex- 
tent. A  small  stream  rising  from  springs  a  little  to  the  west- 
ward, flows  across  it  through  a  narrow  valley  tilled  with  a  com- 
post washed  down  by  the  rains.  The  inclosing  stockade  is 
formed  of  pine  logs  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  about  eighl 
inches  in  diameter,  sunk  five  feet  into  the  ground  and  placed 
(dose  together.  This  is  again  surrounded  by  two  successive 
:.'iid  precisely  similar  palisades — a  portion  of  the  last  of  which 
is  gone.  It  seems  never  to  have  been  completed.  The  two 
inner  walls  remain  entire.  Within  the  interior  space,  at  the 
distance  of  about  seventeen  feet  from  the  stockade,  runs  tin1 
famous  dead  line,  marked  by  small  posts  set  in  the  ground,  and 
a  slight  strip  of  pine  board  nailed  on  the  to])  of  them,  'flic 
•i'ates,  of  which  there  are  two,  situated  on  the  west  side,  were 
continuous  with  the  stockade,  inclosing  spaces  of  thirty  feet 
square,  more  or  less,  with  massive  doors  at  either  end.  They 
were  arranged  and  worked  on  the  principle  of  canal  locks. 
Upon  the  inner  stockade  were  fifty-two  sentry  boxes,  raised 
above  the  tops  of  the  palisades  and  accessible  to  the  guards  by 
ladders.  In  these  stood  lifty-two  guards  will)  loaded  arms,  so 
pear  thai   they  could  converse  with  each  other.     In  addition 


Rj  [*ORT    Bl    1  l  .AH  \    I '.  \kt<>\  261 

t<»  these,  Beveu  forts,  mounted  with  field  artillery,  commanded 
the  fatal  space  and  it*  masses  <»i  perishing  men. 

Under  the  most  favorable  circumstances  and  besl  possible 
management  the  Bupply  of  water  would  have  been  insufficient 
for  half  the  Dumber  of  persons  who  had  i<»  use  it.  The  exist- 
ing arrangements  nni.Ni  have  aggravated  tin-  evil  to  the  utmosl 
extent.  The  sole  establishments  for  cooking  and  baking  were 
placed  on  tin-  bank  of  the  stream  immediately  above,  and  be- 
tween the  two  inner  lines  of  palisades.  The  grease  and  refuse 
from  them  were  found  adhering  to  the  banks  ;it  the  time  of  our 
visit.  The  guards,  to  the  number  of  aboul  :).(><»<),  were  prin- 
cipally encamped  on  the  upper  pari  of  the  stream,  and  when 
the  heavy  rains  washed  down  the  hillside  covered  with  :5iHH)(> 
human  beings,  and  the  outlel  below  failed  to  discharge  the  flood 
which  haeked  and  tilled  the  valley,  the  water  must  have  become 
oul  and  Loathsome  that  ewry  statement  I  have  seen  of  its 
offensiveness  must  be  considered  as  falling  shorl  of  the  reality. 
And  yel  within  rifle  shot  of  the  prison  there  (lowed  a  stream 
fifteen  feel  wide  and  three  deep  of  pure,  delicious  water.  Had 
the  prison  been  so  placed  as  to  include  a  section  of  the  •■Sweet 
Water  Creek,"  the  inmates  mighl  have  drank  and  bathed  to 
their  hearts'  content. 

During  the  occupation  a  beautiful  sprint:-  broke  out.  like  the 
waters  of  Meribah,  from  tin-  solid  ground  near  the  foot  of  the 
northern  slope,  just  under  the  western  dead  line.  It  is  still 
then — cool  and  <dear — the  only  pleasing  objed  in  this  horrid 
place. 

The  scarcity  of  water,  the  want  of  occupation,  and.  perhaps, 
tin-  desire  to  escape  by  tunneling,  impelled  the  prisoners  to  dig 
wells.  Forty  of  those  wells,  finished  and  unfinished,  remain, 
those  on  the  highesl  ground  being  sunk  in  the  hard  soil  to  the 
depth  of  thirty  feet.  The  work  was  done  with  knives,  spoons, 
ks  and  other  tools  hut  little  better.  The  diggers  brought 
up  tin-  earth  in  their  pockets  ami  blouses  and  sprinkled  it  aboul 
the  grounds  to  conceal  the  quantity.  In  some  wells  excellent 
water  was  reached,  and  in  others  horizontal  galleries  were  at- 
tempted f«»r  escape.  In  at  hast  one  instance  a  tunnel  was  car- 
ried entirely  through  tie-  hill  ami  a  few  prisoners  are  said  to 
have  -jot  through. 

Th«-  Bteep  face  of  the  northern  hill  is  burrowed  throughout 
its  whole  extent.     The  little  caves  are  scooped  out  and  arched 


i2i>ii      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

in  the  form  of  ovens,  floored,  ceiled  and  strengthened  so  far  as 
the  owners  had  means  with  sticks  and  pieces  of  boards,  and 
some  of  them  are  provided  with  fireplaces  and  chimneys.  It 
would  seem-that  there  were  eases,  during  long  rains,  where  a 
house  would  become  the  grave  of  its  owner  by  falling  in  upon 
him  in  the  night.  In  these  burrows  are  still  found  remnants 
of  the  wretched  food  and  rude  utensils  of  the  occupants — drink- 
ing cups  made  of  sections  of  horns ;  platters  and  spoons  wrought 
from  parts  of  old  canteens;  kettles  and  pans  made  without 
solder  from  stray  pieces  of  old  tin  or  sheet  iron.  1  brought 
away  a  considerable  number  of  these  articles,  which  may  one 
day   be  of  interest   to  the  curious. 

Five  sheds  stand  on  top  of  the  northern  hill,  erected  in  the 
early  pari  of  the  occupation;  and  five  more  on  the  opposite 
height,  built  a  short  time  before  the  evacuation. 

Like  nearly  all  southern  land,  the  soil  is  liable  to  be  washed 
away  by  the  rains,  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  ravines  are 
now  formed,  gullied  to  the  depth  of  twelve  feet.  It  seems  im- 
possible that  men  could  have  kept  their  footing  on  these  hill- 
sides when  slippery  with  rain. 

Outside  the  inclosure,  and  nearly  parallel  with  the  south  nu\, 
is  Hie  hospital  stockad< — 800  feet  by  350.  It  contains  twenty- 
two  sheds,  for  the  most  part  without  sides,  erected  about  three 
months  before  the  place  was  abandoned.  The  old  hospital, 
occupied  up  to  that  time,  in  which  so  many  brave  men  died, 
consisted  only  of  tents  inclosed  by  a  board  fence  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  guard.  Confused  heaps  of  rubbish  alone  mark 
the  place  it  occupied. 

About  half  a  mile  from  the  main  prison,  and  near  Anderson 
Station,  is  the  officers'  stockade — a  small  inclosure,  in  which 
were  never  imprisoned  more  than  250  officers, — and  it  was 
chiefly  used   for  the  confinement   of  rebel  offenders. 

The  cemetery,  around  which  the  chief  interest  must  gather, 
is  distant  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  stockade,  in  a 
northwesterly  direction.  The  graves,  placed  side  by  side  in 
(dose  continuous  rows,  cover  nine  acres,  divided  into  three 
Unequal  lots  by  two  roads  which  intersect  each  other  at  nearly 
righl  angles,  'flic  fourth  space  is  still  unoccupied,  except  by 
a  lew  graves  of  ' l Confederate ' '  soldiers. 

No  human  bodies  were  found  exposed,  and  none,  were  re- 
moved.     The   place   was    found    in    much    better  condition  than 


Kl.i'ui;  I    "l     Cl   \l»"  \    l'»  VRTON 

had   been  anticipated,  owing  to  the  excellent    measures  takeu 
by   Major  General   Wilson,  commanding  al    Macon,  and  n 

mane,  public  spirited  citizen  oi    Fori    Valley,  G 'gia,  u 

Griffin,  who,  in  passing  <>n  the  railroad,  \\  .is  informed  by  one 
of  the  ever  faithful  negroes  thai  the  bodies  were  beeon  u  2 
posed  .-ind  were  rooted  up  by  the  animals.     [laving  verified  this 

tement,  he  collected  a  few  negroes,  sunk  the  exposed  bodies 
ami  covered  them  to  a  proper  depth.  He  then  reported  the 
facts  to  General  Wilson  and  requested  authority  to  take  steps 
protecting  the  grounds.  Thai  patriotic  officer  visited  An 
dersonville  in  person,  appointed  Mr.  Griffin  temporary  super- 
intendent .-iiul  gave  him  such  limited  facilities  aa  could  be  fur- 
nished in  thai  destitute  country,  h  waa  determined  to  inclose 
a  square  of  fifty  acrea;  and  a1  the  time  oi  our  arrival  the  fence 
was  nearly  one-third  luiilt  from  old  lumber  found  aboul  the 
place.  He  had  also  erected  a  brick  kiln  and  waa  manufacturing 
brick  for  drains  to  conduct  the  water  away  from  the  gravea  and 
protect  and  atrengthen  the  soil  againal  the  action  of  the  heavy 
rains.  We  found  Mr.  Griffin  buay  with  a  force  of  aboul  twenty 
-  and  a  few  mules  at  work  on  the  grounds.  I  have  un- 
derstood that  thai  gentleman  furnished  the  labor  a1  his  own 
while  General  Wilson  issued  the  necessary  rations. 

'Idie  pari  performed  by  our  party  was  to  take  up  and  carry 
forward  the  work  so  well  begun.  Additional  force  was  ob- 
tained t'oni  the  military  commandanl  ,-m  Macon  for  completing 
the  inclosure  and  erecting  the  headboards.  It  seemed  that  the 
dead  had  been  buried  by  Union  prisoners,  paroled  from  the 
wide  and  hospital  for  thai  purpose.  Successive  trenches. 
capable  of  containing  from  ino  to  150  bodies  each,  thickly  set 
with  little  poM>  or  boards  with  numbers  in  regular  order 
carved  upon  them,  told  to  the  astonished  and  tear-dimmed 
eye  the  gad  story  of  buried  treasures.  It  was  necessary  only 
to  compare  the  number  upon  each  posl  or  board  with  that 
which  Btands  opposite  the  name  on  the  regiater,  and  replace 
the  whole  with  a  more  substantial,  uniform  and  comely  tablet, 
bearing  not  only  tin-  original  number,  hut  the  name,  company 
and  regiment,  and  the  date  of  death  of  the  soldier  who  slepl 
beneal  h. 

I  have  repeatedly  been  assured  by  prisoners  thai  great  care 
waa  taken  a1  the  time,  by  the  men  to  whom  fell  the  sad  task 
«»f  originally   marking  this  astonishing   number  of  graves,  i<» 


264       Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

perform  the  work  with  faithfulness  and  accuracy.  II'  it  shall 
prove  that  the  work  performed  by  those  who  followed,  under 
circumstances  so  much  more  favorable,  was  executed  with  less 
faithfulness  and  accuracy  than  the  former,  it  will  be  a  subjecl 
of  much  regret,  but,  fortunately,  not  yet  beyond  the  possibility 
of  correction.  The  number  of  graves  marked  is  12,920.  The 
original  records,  captured  by  General  Wilson,  furnished  about 
L0,500;  but,  as  one  book  of  the  record  had  not  been  secured, 
over  2,000  names  were  supplied  from  a  copy  (of  his  own  record) 
made  by  Mr.  Atwater  in  the  Andersonville  prison,  and  brought 
by  him  to  Annapolis  on  his  return  with  the  paroled  prisoners. 

Interspersed  throughout  this  Death  Register  were  400  num- 
bers against  which  stood  only  the  word  "Unknown."  So, 
scattered  among  the  thickly  designated  graves,  stand  400  tab- 
lets bearing  only  the  number  and  the  touching  inscription 
"Unknown  Union  Soldier." 

Substantially  nothing  was  attempted  beyond  inclosing  the 
grounds,  identifying  and  marking  the  graves,  placing  some 
appropriate  mottoes  at  the  gates  and  along  the  spaces  designed 
for  walks,  and  erecting  a  flag  staff  in  the  center  of  the  cemetery. 
The  work  was  completed  on  the  17th  of  August,  and  the  party 
took  its  route  homeward  by  way  of  Chattanooga,  Nashville  and 
Cincinnati,  arriving  at  AVashington  on  the  morning  of  August 
24. 

The  health  of  the  party  during  the  expedition  was  remark- 
ably good,  when  the  season  of  the  year,  the  fatigue  and  the 
want  of  customary  accommodations  are  taken  into  considera- 
tion. Cases  of  slight  chills  and  fevers  were  not  infrequent  ; 
yet  during  the  entire  time  we  had  only  one  ease  of  severe  ill- 
ness, and  that,  to  our  grief,  terminated  fatally.  Edward  Watts, 
of  Georgetown,  D.  C,  a  clerk  in  the  quartermaster's  depart- 
ment in  this  city,  sickened  of  typhoid  fever  during  the  passage 
up  the  Savannah  river  and  died  on  the  10th  day  of  August. 
His  remains  were  taken  home  to  his  friends.  Mr.  Watts  was 
a  young  man  of  education  and  refinement,  and  of  the  highest 
type  of  moral  and  religious  character;  he  suffered  patiently, 
and  died  nobly  and  well.  1  have  thought  that  he  might  be  re- 
garded as  the  last  martyr  of  Andersonville. 

The  future  of  this  historic  spot  cannot  fail  to  constitute  d 
subject  of  deep  and  abiding  interest  to  the  people  of  this  entire 
country.     It  would  seem  fitting  that   it  should  be  preserved  as 


Ul.miM     ,;\     CLARA    BARTON  205 

one  of  the  sanctuaries  of  the  nation,  and,  in  due  time,  be  dcr- 
orated  with  appropriate  honors,  Its  susceptibility  of  internal 
improvemenl  is  very  great.  Water  can  be  had  for  irrigation, 
and  the  climate  will  produce  nearly  all  the,  flora  of  the  temper- 
ate zone.  Both  national  gratitude  and  personal  affection  will 
suggesl  the  erection  of  a  suitable  monumenl  within  the  ceme- 
tery, where,  if  desirable,  may  be  preserved  in  durable  form  the 
oames  of  the  martyrs  who  sleep  around.  And.  as  the  land  on 
which  .-ill  these  interesting  associations  are  clustered  is  still  the 
property  of  private  individuals,  never  having  passed  from  the 
hands  of  the  original  owners,  ii  would  seem  desirable  thai  the 
cemetery,  at  least,  and  its  immediate  surroundings,  become  the 
property  of  the  nation.  A  mile  square  will  embrace  all  points 
neral  and  historic  interest. 

There  are  numerous  smaller  burial  places  in  the  State  of 
pgia,  which,  from  their  seeming  lesser  importance,  will 
scarcely  be  kept  up  as  national  cemeteries,  and,  in  reference 
to  which,  without  venturing  to  suggest,  I  would  merely  remark 
that  the  titty  acres  inclosed  at  Andersonville  would  afford 
ample  space  for  all  whom  it  mighl  ever  he  deemed  advisable 
to  remove  to  t hat  point. 

During  the  occupation  of  Andersonville  as  ;i  prison  it  was 
a  punishable  offense  for  a  colored  man  or  woman  to  feed, 
shelter,  aid  <>r  even  converse  with  the  prisoners  on  parole.  To 
others  they  had  no  access.  I  have  been  informed  thai  they 
were  not  allowed  aboul  the  prison  grounds;  and  so  ureal  was 
their  superstitious  horror  of  the  cruelties  perpetrated  upon  the 
prisoners  thai  only  a  comparatively  small  number  had  ever 
found  the  courage  to  visit  the  cemetery  up  to  the  time  of  our 
arrival.  Bui  the  presence  of  so  many  Northern  people  on  such 
an  errand,  among  them  a  lady,  entirely  overcame  their  fears; 
and  they  visited  the  cemetery  and  myself  by  scores,  men, 
women  and  children,  sometimes  a  hundred  in  a  day.  Ii  was 
no  uncommon  occurrence,  upon  opening  my  tent  in  the  morn 
ing,  to  find  ;i  group  who  had  come  to  see  the  "Yankee  lady." 
and  to  task  her  if  it  were  true  thai  Abraham  Lincoln  was  dead, 

and  they  were  \'v*-'':  and  how    Massa   Lincoln's  ureal   paper  read, 
and    what    they    OUghl    to    do:    and    to    tell    her    how    the    "poor 

Yankee  prisoners*'  ran   before  the  dons  '"like  us."  and  they 

could   not   save  them     starved,  and   how  they  could   not    \'t'c<\ 
tin-in     died,  and  how  they  could  not  see  them. 


266      Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 

Remember,  mothers,  thai  the  pitying  tears  of  the  old-time 
slave,  whom  your  son  helped  to  freedom,  is  the  only  tear  thai 
falls  upon  his  distanl  grave  today. 

I.  have  endeavored  to  point  out  to  you,  as  faithfully  as  I  am 
able,  the  various  objects  of  interest,  painful  or  otherwise,  which 
presented  themselves  to  my  observation  during  the  time  occu- 
pied in  the  work  of  the  expedition;  and  while  I  would  not 
dwell  upon  the  terribleness  of  the  sufferings  imposed  upon  our 
prisoners,  nor  stir  the  hearts  already  sunk  in  grief  to  deeper 
woe.  still  we  owe  it  alike  to  the  living  and  the  dead  thai  a 
proper  knowledge  and  realization  of  the  miseries  which  they 
endured  be  entertained  by  all.  We  are  wont  to  attribute  tiieir 
chief  suffering  to  insufficiency  of  food,  and.  while  this  is  prob- 
ably just,  still,  to  the  mind  of  one  who  has  looked  over  the 
scanty,  shelterless,  pitiful  spot  of  earth  to  which  they  were 
confined,  who  has  taken  into  consideration  the  numberless 
trials  which  must  have  grown  out  of  the  privation  of  space  and 
the  necessary  conveniences  of  life,  the  conviction  will  force 
itself  that  these  latter  woes  fell  bu1  little  short  of  the  former. 
It  is  to  be  remembered  that  during  thirteen  long  months  they 
knew  neither  shelter  nor  protection  from  the  changeable  skies 
above,  nor  the  pitiless,  unfeeling  earth  beneath. 

The  treacherous  nature  of  the  soil,  parching  to  seams  in  the 
sun,  and  gullying  and  sliding  under  their  feet  with  every 
shower,  must  have  augmented  their  ills  almost  beyond  concep- 
tion. I  watched  the  effect  of  a  heavy  fall  of  rain  upon  the 
inclosed  grounds,  and  in  thirty  minutes  the  entire  hillsides, 
whi(d)  had  constituted  their  sole  abiding  place,  were  one  rolling 
mass  of  slippery  mud  ;  and  this  was  t  he  effect  of  a  mere  summer 
shower.  What,  then,  of  the  continued  rains  of  autumn  .'  Think 
of  thirty  thousand  men  penned  in  by  a  (dose  stockade  upon 
twenty-six  acres  of  ground,  from  which  every  tree  and  shrub 
had  been  uprooted  for  fuel  to  cook  their  scanty  food,  huddled, 
like  cattle,  without  shelter  or  blanket,  half  (dad  and  hungry. 
with  the  dreary  night  setting  in  after  a  day  of  autumn  rain. 
The  hilltops  would  not  hold  them  all.  and  the  valley  was  filled 
with  the  swollen  brook;  seventeen  feel  from  the  stockade  ran 
the  fatal  dead  l'ne.  beyond  which  no  man  might  step  and  live 
What  did  they  do.'  I  need  not  ask  you  where  did  they  go, 
for  on  the  face  of  the  whole  green  earth  there  was  n<>  place  hut 
this  for  them.     Bui    where  did   they  place  themselves?     How 


Ki  PORT    I'N    <  I   \R  \    l'»  1RTON  267 

did  they  live!  Aye,  Iiom  did  the}  die?  I > u  1  this  is  only  one 
feature  of  their  suffering,  and  perhaps  the  lightest.  Of  the 
long,  dazzling  months  when  gaunl  famine  stalked  al  noon  day 
and  pestilence  walked  by  eight,  and  upon  the  seamed  and 
parching  earth  the  cooling  rains  fell  uot,  I  will  uol  trusl  me 
to  speak.  I  scarce  dare  think.  If  my  heart  were  strong 
enough  to  draw  the  picture  there  are  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands ;ill  through  our  land  too  crushed  and  sore  t<»  look  upon 
it.  Bui  after  this,  whenever  any  man  who  has  lain  a  prisoner 
within  th<-  stockade  «>!'  Andersonville  would  tell  you  of  his  suf- 
ferings, how  he  fainted,  scorched,  drenched,  hungered,  si<- k- 
cucd.  was  scoffed,  scourged,  hunted  and  persecuted,  though 
the  tale  he  long  and  twice-told.  as  you  would  have  your  own 
wrongs  appreciated,  your  own  woes  pitied,  your  own  erics  for 
mercy  heard,  I  charge  you  listen  and  believe  him.  However 
definitely  he  may  have  spoken,  know  that  he  has  not  told  you 
all.  However  strongly  he  may  have  outlined,  or  deeply  he 
may  have  colored  his  picture,  know  that  the  reality  calls  for 
a  better  lighl  and  a  nearer  \  vw  than  your  clouded,  distant 
gaze  will  ever  urct. 

And  your  sympathies  need  ool  he  confined  to  Andersonville, 
while  similar  horrors  glared  in  the  sunny  lighl  and  spotted  the 
flower-girl  garden  fields  of  that  whole  desperate,  misguided 
and  bewildered  people.  Wherever  stretched  the  form  of  a 
Union  prisoner  there  rose  the  signal  tor  cruelty  and  the  rvy 
of  agony;  and  there,  day  by  day.  grew  the  skeleton  graves  of 
the  nameless  dead. 

But,  braving  ami  enduring  all  this,  some  thousands  have  re- 
turned to  you.  And  you  will  bear  with  me.  and  these  uoble 
men  will  pardon  me.  while,  in  conclusion,  I  speak  one  word  of 
them. 

The  unparalleled  severities  of  our  four  years*  campaigns 
have  told  upon  the  constitutional  strength  even  of  the  fortu- 
nate soldier  who  alone  marched  to  the  music  of  the  [Tnion  ami 
slepl  only  beneath  the  folds  of  the  flag  for  which  he  fought. 
Bui  they  whom  fickle  fortune  left  to  crouch  al  the  foot  of  the 
shadowless  palmetto,  and  listen  to  the  hissim.:  of  the  serpent. 
drank  still  deeper  of  the  nnhealthful  draught.  These  men  bear 
with  them  the  seeds  of  disease  ami  death,  sown  in  thai  fatal 
•dime  and  ripening  tor  an  early  harvest.  With  occasional 
ceptions,  they  will  prove  to  he  short-lived  and  enfeebled  men. 
ami.  whether  they  ask  it  or  not.  will  deserve  al  vour  hands  no 


L^ii*       Report  of  Andersonville  Moni  ment  Commission 

ordinary  share  of  kindly  consideration.  The  survivor  of  a 
rebel  prison  has  endured  and  suffered  whal  you  never  can,  and 
what,  I  pray  God,  your  children  aever  may.  With  Less  of 
strength,  and  more  of  sad  and  bitter  memories,  he  is  with  yon 
dow,  to  earn  food  so  Long  denied  him.  II'  he  ask  "leave  to 
toil,"  give  it  to  him  before  it  is  too  Late;  if  he  need  kindness 
and  encouragement,  bestow  them  freely  while  yon  may;  if  he 
seek  charity  at  your  hands,  remember  thai  "the  poor  yon  have 
always  with  yon,"  but  him  you  have  not  always,  and  withhold 
it  not.  If  hereafter  you  find  them  making  organized  effort  to 
provide  Tor  the  widow  and  orphan  of  the  Union  prisoner,  re- 
member that  it  grows  6u1  of  the  heart  sympathy  which  clusters 
around  the  memories  of  the  comrades  who  perished  for  the 
future  of  their  own,  and  aid  them. 

In  conclusion,  tremulously,  Lest  I  assume  too  much,  let  me 
hasten  to  commend  to  the  grateful  consideration  of  this  noble, 
generous  people,  alike  the  soldier  who  has  given  the  strength, 
the  prisoner  who  has  sacrificed  his  health,  the  widow  who  has 
offered  up  her  husband,  the  orphan  who  knows  only  that  its 
father  went  out  to  battle  and  comes  no  more  forever,  and  the 
lonely,  distant  grave  of  the  martyr  who  sleeps  alone  in  a 
stranger  soil  that  freedom  and  peace  mighl   come  to  ours. 

One  word  of  explanation,  in  conclusion,  and  I  have  done. 
You  have  long  and  justly  felt  that  some  report  of  this  expe- 
dition, embracing  a  record  of  the  graves  identified  and  re- 
claimed was  due  to  you.  And  three  thousand  Letters  addressed 
to  me  upon  the  subject  have  revealed  only  too  plainly  and 
painfully  the  bitter  anxiety  with  which  you  have  watched  and 
waited. 

A  mere  report,  unaccompanied  by  the  "record/'  seemed  but 
a  hollow  mockery,  which  I  would  not  impose  upon  you,  and 
this  is  my  tirsl  opportunity  for  such  accompaniment.  For  the 
record  of  your  dead  you  are  indebted  to  the  forethought,  cour- 
age and  perseverence  of  Dorence  Ai  water,  a  young  man  not  yet 
twenty-one  years  of  age:  an  orphan,  four  years  a  soldier,  one- 
tenth  part  of  his  life  ;i  prisoner  with  broken  health  and  ruined 

hopes,  he  seeks  to  present  to  your  acceptance  the  sad  gift  he 
has  in  store  for  you  :  and.  grateful  For  the  opportunity,  I  hasten 
to  place  beside  it  this  humble  report,  whose  only  merit  is  its 
truthfulness,  and  I  beg  you  to  accept  il  in  the  spirit  of  kindness 
in  which  it   is  offered. 

Clara   IJarton. 


Andkrson villi    >i\   i    phe  Civil  War 


CHAPTER   XV. 
ANDERSONVILLE  SINCE  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

After  the  war  the  stockade  was  cu1  down  and  removed, 
.•mil  the  ground,  being  well  cleared,  with  ool  a  vestige  of 
tree  or  stump  or  root  as  large  as  a  lead  pencil,  excepl  two 
trees  left,  for  some  unexplained  reason,  in  the  south  side. 
The  soil  was  tilled  and  various  crops  raised  upon  it  until 
May,  1890,  when  it  was  purchased  by  the  Departmenl  of 
Georgia,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  for  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  purchase  included  all  the  ground  oc- 
cupied as  a  prison  and  the  fortifications  surrounding  it. 
also  the  righl  of  way,  one  hundred  feel  wide,  leading  to 
ilit-  railroad  station.  The  work  was  then  commenced  of  clear- 
ing up  the  ground  and  putting  il  in  order.  A  hedge  was 
I  lanted  around  it.  two  br:dges  wot  built  and  piling  put  along 
the  creek  to  prevenl  washing.  The  whole  tract  consisted  of 
aboul  seventy-two  acres.  After  expending  in  the  neighborhood 
of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  the  comrades  of  the  departmenl  fell 
unable  financially  to  continue  the  work,  and  steps  were  taken 
to  turn  it  over  to  the  National  organization  of  t lie  Grand  Army  ; 
they  fell  unable  to  assume  the  responsibility,  and  it  was  then 
turned  over  to,  and  accepted  by,  the  National  Woman's  Relief 
Corps,  .-it  Louisville,  in  1895.  The  conditions  were  that  it 
should  be  improved  and  preserved  as  a  fitting  memorial  to  the 
heroes  who  had  suffered  there.  The  national  president  ap- 
pointed the  following  committee  to  consider  the  proposition 
of  the  Georgia  Departmenl  of  Grand  Army:  Annie  Witten- 
meyer,  Pennsylvania,  Pas1  National  President;  Mary  Lyle  Rey- 
nolds, Kentucky,  and  Josephine  l'>.  Lewis,  Louisiana.  At  the 
fourteenth  convention,  held  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  in  1896,  the 
committee  recommended  thai  "we  accepl  as  a  sacred  trust  the 
Andersonville  prison  property  under  the  conditions  imposed, 
and  that  a  contribution  of  five  cents  be  asked  from  every  mem- 


270       Report  of  Anderronville  Monument  Commission 

ber  of  the  order.  Also,  thai  oilier  funds  be  raised  by  such 
methods  as  the  members  deem  best."  This  recommendation 
was  adopted,  voluntary  contributions  amounting  to  $1,865.50 
were  pledged  a1  once  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  notify 
the  National  Encampmenl  of  the  Grand  Army,  then  in  session, 
of  the  action  of  the  National  Woman's  Relief  Corps.  This 
reporl  was  received  with  enthusiastic  applause  by  the  Grand 
Army,  which  passed  the  following  resolution: 

"Thai  we  heartily  commend  the  patriotic  and  generous 
action  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  in  providing  for  the  per- 
manenl  preservation  of  the  site  of  Andersonville  Prison.'' 

In  189]  the  Relief  Corps  had  purchased  fourteen  and  one- 
half  acres,  which  look  in  the  outer  stockade  and  the  fortifica- 
tions commanding  the  prison.  The  lines  were  1  raced  by  the 
stubs  in  the  ground  and  marked  by  granite  posts.  The  Relief 
Corps  then  buill  a  large,  roomy  house  Tor  the  custodian,  and 
for  the  accommodation  of  visitors  to  the  historic  park.  The 
department  of  Illinois,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  furnished 
the  reception  room,  a  delightful  resting  place,  at  a  cost  of  one 
hundred  dollars.  The  Massachusetts  Relief  Corps  furnished 
one  guesl  chamber,  which  includes  bedding,  bookcase,  books 
ami  pictures,  as  well  as  three  large  flags.  The  New  Jersey 
Corps  has  one  loom  furnished  with  nice  Brussels  carpet,  rugs, 
desk,  table,  sofas,  easy  chairs,  pictures  and  a  large  flag.  The 
Oh'o  Corps  has  one  room  made  as  comfortable  as  kind  bands 
can  make  it.  Jesse  Wells  Relief  Corps  No.  66  and  the  Grand 
Army  Post  of  Columbus,  have  furnished  one  room.  Wisconsin, 
under  the  supervision  of  Department  President  Miss  Fanny 
MacAllister,  furnished  the  dining  room  with  a  twelve-foot  ex- 
tension table,  one  dozen  chairs,  a  handsome  sideboard, — all  of 
golden  oak.  Also  one  do/en  silver  teaspoons  and  one-third 
dozen  tablespoons;  and  the  writer,  I).  (J.  .Tames,  who  was  a 
prisoner  there,  contributed  a  steel  range  and  kitchen  utensils 
to  complete  the  kitchen  furniture.  Messrs.  Lindsay  "Bros,  of 
Milwaukee  contributed  a  one-borse  mower  for  the  lawn. 

Aside  from  the  house,  there  is  a  good  barn  and  tool-bouse. 
Water  is  furnished,  by  a  windmill  and  pipe,  from  an  elevated 
tank  to  the  kitchen  and  barn.  A  woven  wire  fence  four  and 
one-half  feel  high  encloses  the  grounds,  which  are  mad"  bear- 
tiful  by  two  hundred  and  fifty  pecan  trees,  which  will  be  a 
source  of  revenue  in  the  near  future.     Beautiful  shade  trees 


LIZABETH  A    TURNER 
Life-Chairman  AndersonviUe  Board 


"OUR    LIZABETH" 
Died  at  Hkb  1'<>-i  01    Di  iv,  Ajtoersonvillb,  Geobgia 

Amu    27,   1907 

18 


Kl  I  l«  -   01     Prison    Lll  I 

Preserved  at   Anderson vi  lie 


X 


w 


PRO>  ll»l  X(  1      SPRl  N(i 


tl<  1 1  si     i  nut!     iiji     to     H>  n  )-<)i  ; 

<;>,'i   heard,   nm\    with    His   thunder  'hit   tin     earth 
Ami    poured   Hi*    iweeteai    water    gushing   then 


.ill.      I      l\    II         W      Mv 

1 1\  .w  .1}  s.  and,  most  beaul  iful  of  all,  .1  r 

four  hundred  rose  bushes  which  li;i\  e  b< 
ili,-  various  Corps  and  private  indh  iduals.    There 
two  wells  dug  by  the  prisoners,  whose  only  tools 

e8  and  two  quarl  buckets.    Thoi 
mer  of  1864,  and  to  a  depth  of  from  forty  to 
they  have  ool  caved  in.     This  is  probably  becaus* 
bbery  which  has  grown  around  them.     This  shrub- 
liem  appear  .-is  lin  le  oases    n  t  he  deserl . 
abeth  Turner,  Presidenl  of  the  Park  Board  from  1" 

ved  these  wells  and  beautified  the  spots  with  ferns 
.Mini  floi      -      She  died  there  April  27,  1907,  bul   will  always 
held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the  ex-prisoners. 
A  •       the  death  of  Mrs.  Turner,   .Mrs.  Sarah   I).   Winans  of 
Toledo,  Ohio,  continued  the  work  in  the  same  efficienl  manner. 
»tain  Wilson,  of  Indiana,  who  was  care-taker  from  1S!>7  t<> 
s  succeeded  by  Alonzo  Turner  and  his  wife,  who  were 
always  ready  to  do  what   they  could  to  make  visitors  to  the 
park   welcome   and   comfortable.     Mr.  Turner  died   September 
1*>.  1908,  ami  was  followed  by  J.  T.  B:ckel. 
After  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  had  purchased  the  prison 
ind  and  had  it  fixed  up.  they  caused  bulletin  boards  to  be 
•ed    upon    which    were    figures   showing   the    mortality    at 
Andersonville,  and  comparing  it  with  the  prisons  in  tin'  north 
occupied  by  Confederates.     These  bulletins  were  put   there  to 
ite  tie-  false  statements  being  made  by  southern  historians. 
The  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  finding  the  park  needing  much 
constant   '-.ire  and  vigilant    policing  by  parties  of  authority,  on 
•  u 1 1 t  of  the  lawlessness  of  some  irresponsible  persons  who 
threw  rubbish  in  the  famous  Bpring  and  put  mud  into  the  drink- 
ing fountain  at  the  pavilion,  concluded  to  give  the  place  to  the 
irnment.     It  was  accepted  by  act  of  the  59th  Congress  and 
ratified    by   the    National    Woman's    Relief   Corps   September, 
1910,  at   Atlantic  city.  New  Jersey. 

An-!    DOW    that    old    prison    pen,   88 C red    to    the    nation    as    tie- 
token  of  how  much  loyal  men  would  suffer  for  the  welfar< 
their  country    and    its   \v>->-   institutions,   and   still    remain   loyal. 

i-  being  cared  for  by  the  government  those  loyal  men  Buffet 

and  died   to   maintain. 
19 


290     Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  Commission 


THE  CEMETERY  AS  [T  APPEARS  TO-DAY. 

Away  i»;ick  in  the  summer  of  1865,  when  .Miss  Clara  Barton 
went,  av it  h  a  company  of  helpers,  down  to  Andersonville  to 
mark  the  graves  of  the  deceased  Union  prisoners  there  and 
put  the  cemetery  in  decenl  condition,  and  to  report,  so  far  as 
possible,  the  names  of  all  buried  there,  she  made  the  modesl 
suggestion — it  may  be  Pound  on  page  265  of  this  book — that 
the  cemetery  at  Andersonville  be  made  a  national  sanctuary, 
and  that  a  suitable  monument  be  erected  to  the  memory  of 
the  martyrs  there  at  rest. 

The  noble  soul  of  Clara  Barton  could  make  this  suggestion, 
but  she  could  not  foresee  the  half  of  what  would  by-and-by 
be  done  at  Andersonville.  Since  that  time  the  bodies  of  our 
dead  at  Macon  and  Millen  have  been  brought  there  for  burial, 
and  the  cemetery  has  come  to  be,  not  a  great  charnel  house, 
an  uncared-for  city  of  the  dead,  but,  through  the  patriotic  and 
loving  efforts  of  our  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  a  beautiful,  well- 
kept  cemetery, — one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  all  our  land.  A 
government  headstone  marks  the  grave  of  every  one  of  those 
12,960  green  mounds  where  rest  the  brave  young  fellows  who 
so  suffered  for  the  cause  of  liberty  and  the  Union.  The  gov- 
ernment now  owrns  the  grounds,  as  Miss  Barton  suggested  it 
should  do,  and  that  sacred  spot  will  ever  be  a  shrine  of  na- 
tional devotion.     May  we  all  rejoice  in  the  fact. 

PROVIDENCE    SPRING. 

Our  prisoners  in  Andersonville  suffered  fearfully  from  thirst. 
The  water  in  the  little  creek  running  through  the  grounds  was 
altogether  insufficient  for  their  needs:  and  what  there  was  of 
it  was  vile. — thick  with  the  germs  of  disease.  There  was  a 
constant  longing,  not  only  for  food  but  for  good  water  to 
drink.  On  the  night  of  the  16th  of  August.  1864,  there  was  a 
terrible  rain,— a  veritable  flood.  The  prisoners  suffered  fear- 
fully Prom  the  storm.  ye1  great  joy  came  in  the  morning,  when 
the  good  news  flew  about  the  camp  that  during  the  night  a 
spring  of  pure  water  had  burst  forth  Prom  the  ground,  where 
everybody  might  drink  his  fill. 


Andersonvilij   Since  thi   Civil  War  291 

This  >|»iiim  was  w  •  t 1 1 i 1 1  the  dead-line,  bu1  be  il  s;ii<l  t<>  the 
credit  of  Captain  Wirz  thai  he  allowed  spouts  t<>  !»<•  placed  in 
Midi  manner  as  thai  Ihe  water  might  be  broughl  to  where  the 
men  could  gel  a1  it.  Believing  the  breaking  forth  of  this 
spring  to  be  8  miracle  of  God's  goodness,  the  devoul  men  in 
prison  nam".!  il  li Providence  Spring;*'  and  il  is  si  ill  Provi 
deuce  Spring,  The  water  is  now  carried  in  a  i>ip«'  to  the  pa- 
vilion shown  in  the  picture,  where  there  is  drinking  fountain. 
This  fountain  and  pavilion  constitute  a  perpetual  memorial  of 
ill.-  self  sacrifice  oi  the  brave  young  spirits  who  Buffered  there 
for  the  sake  of  their  country,-    vour  country  and  mine. 


292      Report  of  Andersonvtlle  Monument  Commission 


Report  of   the   Treasurer  of  the  Monument 
Commission. 


Re<  EIPT8. 

By  appropriation,  Chapter  322, 
Byjappropriation,  Chapter  321, 
By  ^appropriation,  Chapter  137, 


Laws  of  L903.... 
Laws  of  1905  ..  . 
Laws  of  1907 


Total. 


Disbursements. 

Paid  Alexander  Miller,  consulting  artisl 

Paid  for  advertising 

Paid  Fred  Hibbard,  for  second  choice  of  design 

Paid  C. A. Pink,  for  design  and  working  plans.. 

Paid  for  iron  fences  around  wells 

Paid  C.J.Clark,  contractor 

Paid  expenses  of  Commissioner's  R.  II.  fare, 
hotel,  superintending1  erection  of  monument, 
and  expense  of  dedication 

Paid  back  into  treasury,  as  provided  for  in 
chapter  269,  Laws  of    1900 


Total 


$10,500  00 

COO   00 

1. »  00 


$12,100  oo 


$30  00 
i;  66 

50  00 

363  "20 

83  00 

9. 123  50 


2,  219  39 
153  25 


*!•->.  100  00 


David  G.  James,  Presidt  nt 

Charles  H.  Russell,  Secretary. 


(Signed)  Lansing  Williams, 

Treasurer 


L  \  \-i  \(,    W'ii  i  i  \  \i 


S   S'CE    nil.    I     \        V  295 


A   PATHETIC  POEM. 

The  following  poem  was  found  in  tin-  knapsack  of  James  W. 

Hyatt,  private  in  Company  11.  L18th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 

wln>  enlisted  August  12,  L862,  and  who  was  captured  and  died 

mville,   Georgia,    December   :!.    1864.     A    copy    was 

:en  by  1>.  C.  Smith,  a  fellow  prisoner,  and  Secretary  of 
Indiana  Monument  <  Commission  : 

1I.WK  YO\]  LEFT  is  BERE  To  DIE1 

When  our  country  called  tor  men,  we  came  from   forge,  and 

e,  and  mill. 
Prom  workshop,  farm  and  factory,  the  broken  ranks  to  till; 
We  left  "in-  quiet  homes  and  the  ones  we  loved  so  well, 
To  vanquish  all  our  Union  foes,  or  fall  where  others  fell. 
Now  in  prison  drear  we  languish,  and  it  is  our  constanl  cry: 
<  >h.  you  who  yet  can  saw  us.  will  you  leave  us  here  to  die? 

Tin-  voice  of  slander  tells  you  that  our  hearts  were  weak  with 

fear, 
That  all.  or  nearly  all.  of  us  were  captured  in  the  rear. 
The  scius  upon  our  bodies  from  musket-balls  and  shell, 
Tin-  missing  legs  and  shattered  arms,  a  truer  tale  will  tell. 
We  have  tried  to  do  our  duty  in  sight  of  God  on  high; 
^>h.  you  wh<>  yet  can  save  us.  will  you  leave  us  here  t<>  die 

There  are  hearts  with  hopes  still  beating  in  our  pleasant  North- 
ern ho! 
Waiting,   watching   for  the    footsteps  that    may    never,   never 

ae. 
In  a  Southern  prison  pining,  meagre,  tattered,  pale  and  gaunt, — 
vim:  weaker,  weaker  daily  from  pinching  cold  and  want. 


'  ir   Bhould     •    said  here  that  the  rebels  undertook  to  make  m 

rernment  would  not  exchange  prisoners.    They  tried 

think  that    Uncle  Sam  was  Indifferenl   t<>  our  condition. 

While  we  kne*  better  than  that,  ir  is  no  wonder  that  Bome  of  the  poor 

In  their  and  discouragement,   almoel   lost  faith  even 

•  i'lit   Abraham   Lincoln,  our  whole  government,  and 

■■  te    ot"  mind  of  the   pooi    fellow 

!id   of  others   of   as    from    time  to   time. 

—  h     Q    J 


296     Report  of  Andersonville  Monument  (  ommission 
There  brothers,  sons,  and  husbands,  poor  and  hopeless  captives, 

lie: 

Oh.  you  who  yei  can  save  us.  will  you  leave  us  here  in  die. 

Jus1  outside  our  prison  gate  there's  ;i  graveyard  near  a1   hand, 
Where  lie  twelve  thousand    Union   men   beneath   the  Georgia 
sand  : 

Scores  and  scores  are  laid  beside  them  as  day  succeeds  each 

day. 
And  thus  it   shall   he  ever  till  111"   last    shall   pass  away. 
And  the  last  can  say  when  dying,  with  uplifted,  glazing  eye, 
Both  faith  and  love  are  dead  at  home,  they  have  left  us  here 

to  die. 


